Sometimes it can be tricky to identify what will be popular in the years to come, but that doesn?t stop big data from trying. Cultural anomalies are particularly difficult to predict, but an algorithm is attempting to predict which modern novel will become the next big bestseller. Jodie Archer, author of an upcoming book titled The Bestseller Code: Anatomy of the Blockbuster Novel, takes a critical look at what makes something popular amongst consumers–particularly in regard to literature. A computer algorithm, affectionately referred to as the ?bestseller-ometer,? examines a huge amount of literature for qualities that make bestselling fiction. According to The Atlantic, the algorithm is capable of identifying a bestseller upwards of 80 percent of the time. This success rate is achieved by going off a list of novels from the past 30 years and identifying New York Times best sellers. This is one of the ways in which data-driven initiatives are attempting to better understand the way that the human brain identifies concepts, and it could change the way that publishers identify potential best sellers. Like most good ideas, this concept was borne from a question that needed to be answered: ?Why do we all read the same book?? It?s a valid question to ask, as people find different traits valuable in literature. The same folks who like to read literary fiction may find a guilty pleasure in young adult novellas. A book could be slaughtered by critics, but be wildly popular amongst the masses, as we?ve seen with several novels based on vampires. Archer, along with English professor Matthew L. Jockers, built the algorithm with the intention of discovering what makes readers flock to a particular story. The Bestseller Code documents the process through teaching an algorithm to closely analyze the text within the content for certain key factors that create popular fiction. This generally involves semantics, like themes, allusions, word choice, and other literary topics. Among the most popular traits found within bestsellers are: Authoritative voice Colloquial (everyday) language Action-oriented characters Cohesion Intimacy Another major theme that was touched upon was the idea of the zeitgeist, which can be defined as time-sensitive ideals and beliefs. In other words, what?s contemporary and popular amongst the public plays a major role in how successful any novel is. Thus, it becomes difficult to predict how bestsellers will be selected in the future, as it?s difficult to guess where society will stand in the future. Plus, it would make sense for a human–with its ability to understand and interpret emotion–to be the one to decide whether or not a book is worth labeling as a bestseller. After all, the computer isn?t necessarily the one reading the book, but rather it?s hundreds of thousands of people around the world who will be doing so. Whether or not big data manages to identify a masterpiece recipe for the next bestseller hasn?t been mentioned, and thus it?s important to realize that the entire concept of trying to identify human behavior with big data could be irrelevant. After all, humans can be difficult to predict, as they often function in ways beyond any and all reason or logic. Thus, it?s important to remember that while technology has provided great ways to improve operations and hone in on a consumer base, it?s still crucial to […]

Quick Access to the Start MenuThe Start menu is a crucial part of anyone?s computing experience, and it?s so iconic that after forsaking it with Windows 8, it was resurrected for use in Windows 10. While you could easily click on the Start button in the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, you can always just press the Windows key for the same effect. You can then navigate through the menu by using the arrow keys. Also of note is that you can just start typing to perform a basic search while the menu is open. For a more advanced experience, you can use the Power Users menu. This offers options such as your device?s Event Viewer, Device Manager, and Command Prompt module. Greater Accessibility of Your AppsYou can use the Windows key in tandem with the number keys to open apps that are located on your taskbar. If the apps are already open, the windows can easily be minimized or maximized. Furthermore, adding the Control key to the mix allows you to open a new window for the app. For example, let?s say that Google Chrome is the fifth app on your taskbar. If you wanted to open a new Chrome window, all you would have to do is press Ctrl+Windows+5. Or, you could open a new app from your taskbar by using Windows+T to highlight the first toolbar app and selecting it with the arrow keys and Enter. Utilize Virtual DesktopsIf you make heavy use of virtual desktops, you can create one by using the keystroke Windows+Shift+D. Once you?re done, you can use the keystroke Windows+Ctrl+F4 to close down the virtual desktop. Will you be using these keystrokes to cut down on unnecessary mouse movements? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog for even more great tips and tricks.

If a USB device is infected with malware, it can put not just your computer, but even your entire data infrastructure at risk. We?ll discuss some of the many USB threats out there, including some that are more dangerous than you might think. USB Kill 2.0What happens when you push too much electricity into a device? It will experience a power surge, much like how a lightning storm could result in a power outage. Unfortunately, when used by hackers, this trait of electronics is a potent terror tactic. USB Kill is one particular threat that creates dongles designed to siphon power from a device, then release the energy back into the system to kill it. Scary indeed. The device was originally intended to help hardware developers test the device?s ability to resist what?s referred to as ?juice jacking.? Juice jacking is more easily described as the theft of data during the charging process. USB Kill 2.0 was capable of permanently damaging 95 percent of all devices that were tested. USB Kill was frequently successful when attempting to wipe data from the device. Though this isn?t the designated purpose of USB Kill, it?s a side-effect that hackers have been able to leverage for their purposes–simply because the charge is enough to fry the drive controllers. Someone who wants to use this device can get it for as little as $56, which is further influenced by the fact that there aren?t effective protections against this type of threat. All you can really do is inform your employees that they shouldn?t be plugging in just any old USB device. USB-to-Ethernet TheftIt?s a security best practice that you lock your device whenever you leave it unattended. It doesn?t matter if you?re leaving for the end of the day or taking a short stroll around the office–if you don?t lock your computer, it?s a security risk. Even if your device is locked, though, a security researcher created a way to extract data from a locked computer using a USB device. The USB device masks its malicious intentions by making the target PC adopt the device as the preferred network interface. This lets the hacker sap data out of the computer and send it to another connected system. In this particular case, it?s best to just not leave your computer unattended. What?s a Business to Do?Even though not all USB devices contain dangerous malware, it?s still not safe to just plug in any old device into your organization?s infrastructure. You can take a two-pronged approach to reinforce how your business handles USB devices: First, educate your team on how to use them properly. Second, enforce a policy that demands any and all devices be checked into IT and examined for threats before being plugged into your office?s technology. Of course, if USB drives are a regular occurrence in your office, you can avoid this pain in the neck by implementing a cloud solution for your mobile storage needs. It?s also recommended that you secure any exposed ports with locks or similar devices. In terms of security, while USB has been one of the most affordable and convenient ways to transfer data, it falls short of business-class standards. You should be looking to other solutions, like cloud computing, that can keep you connected to your data from […]

Security has never been easy for any business that deals with sensitive information. Nowadays, even a small business that uses an Internet connection has to worry about hackers and malware of all types. This is especially problematic for small healthcare offices that need to keep sensitive information secure and safe from online threats. This is primarily due to the fact that file storage systems are becoming increasingly reliant on connected digital systems. Traditional file storage systems are inefficient and susceptible to all sorts of problems; primarily user error, document destruction, and theft. While digital systems are now capable of more efficiently storing sensitive patient data, this comes at the major risk of hacking attacks. Cyber criminals understand how valuable personally identifiable information is, making healthcare institutions lucrative targets. In particular, hospitals are feeling the effects of hacking attacks–mainly due to the crippling effects of ransomware. Hackers understand how crucial a hospital?s data is to its operations, so they?re more likely to shell out huge amounts of revenue in order to save their data from ransomware. In most cases (this goes for larger enterprises too), hospitals have little choice but to comply with a hacker?s demands. To protect the data of patients in healthcare networks and systems, HIPAA governs guidelines for how organizations protect sensitive data. Here are some tips to help you keep your business HIPAA compliant. Use a quality data backup and disaster recovery solution. You want to make sure that your business is equipped with tools to not only back up, but also restore, your critical and sensitive data. This includes making sure that you have an optimal recovery point objective, as well as a quality recovery time objective. Lastly, you need your data stored not just on-site, but also in the cloud or an external data center for safe keeping. Implement enterprise-level security solutions. Regardless of whether or not your business handles sensitive data, you should always be using security solutions like firewalls, antivirus, and spam blocking technology. A Unified Threat Management solution is a great way to take advantage of preventative security solutions. Use encryption. Often times, organizations won?t see the need to encrypt their data specifically because they?re already using other security measures. They don?t think that there?s a chance that their data will be stolen. While HIPAA doesn?t necessarily call for encryption, we highly recommend it. Encryption makes any stolen data practically impossible to decipher–or, at least, not worth the hacker?s effort. Consult professionals in the IT field. Your business or organization specializes in a particular craft–not IT security. Therefore, it makes sense to bring in IT professionals who have been around the block a time or two to guarantee that you don?t overlook the details of HIPAA compliance. If your business is having trouble keeping up with HIPAA compliance, White Mountain IT Services can help. We understand the ins and outs of HIPAA compliance and want to ensure that your practice doesn?t get stuck with budget-breaking fines from failing to adhere to HIPAA standards. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Data backup is a critical component of a business continuity plan, but there are many businesses that fail to understand why data backup is important, as well as what it entails. We want to clear up some facts about how data backup is important, and why you need it for your business. Only with a thorough understanding of how your data backup saves your infrastructure can you effectively use it for business continuity. Multiple Copies Doesn?t Guarantee Effective BackupIt?s a best practice to keep multiple copies of your data strewn across various parts of your computing infrastructure. One should be in-house, while another should be stored off-site and in the cloud, completely unconnected from your in-house network. However, just because you have several backups of your data doesn?t guarantee that they?ll be effective when you need them most. Regardless of where they?re stored, data backups are still vulnerable to user error and data corruption. To avoid this unfortunate circumstance, make a habit out of regularly testing your data backups. Data Often Cannot Be Restored from the OriginalWhile there may be an opportunity to restore data following a loss incident, it?s not always a guarantee. Regardless, rebuilding data out of nothing would certainly be a time-consuming endeavor, especially if you lost a significant portion of your data infrastructure. Instead, it?s better and more time-conscious to just restore a backup of the data rather than attempting to restore data from what remains of your data disaster. Data Backup and Disaster Recovery Aren’t the Same ThingIt?s worth mentioning that data backup and disaster recovery aren?t the same thing, but are quite closely related. Data backup is the act of taking the backup itself, while disaster recovery is the ability to recover these data backups. Data backup represents a figure known as the recovery point objective, which determines how much data you want to back up at any given time. Disaster recovery, on the other hand, focuses on the recovery time objective, which is how long it takes you to get back to normal operations. Both of these should be clearly outlined in order to guarantee that your disaster recovery can go as smoothly as possible. One of the best ways to address all of these misconceptions is with a backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution from White Mountain IT Services. Our BDR can help your business fully leverage enterprise-level business continuity software that allows for optimal uptime and efficiency. Our BDR can take backups as often as every fifteen minutes–automatically–without disrupting the workday. Furthermore, these backups are captured both in the BDR device and in an off-site data center, from which they can be restored remotely in the event of a data loss disaster. The BDR can act as a server unit while your business makes plans to replace your faulty hardware. To learn more about BDR and business continuity, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800. Our professional technicians would be happy to answer any questions or concerns you might have over the future of your data infrastructure.