Does the U.S. Constitution allow the American government to access the electronic devices of its citizens? According to FBI Director James Comey?s statements at Symantec?s Annual Government Symposium, it certainly does. This situation was birthed from the tussle between Apple and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after Apple refused to grant the FBI the information necessary to unlock an encrypted iPhone linked to a terror case. In the end, the FBI managed to unlock the device without assistance from Apple after threats of lawsuits and other unpleasantries were thrown around. Reacting to this issue, as well as the trend towards more encryption in mobile devices causing complications during investigations, Comey clarified the bureau’s stance on the privacy of the American citizen. Conceding that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in houses, vehicles, and mobile devices, Comey asserts that there are other considerations to take into account to justify revoking that expectation, going on to say: ?With good reason, the people of the United States–through judges and law enforcement–can invade our public spaces.” This statement, however, begs the question: how does a personal device really qualify as a public space? Again, according to Comey, it does in the U.S. ?Even our memories are not absolutely private in the United States,? Comey said. ?Even our memories are not absolutely private in the United States. Even our communications with our spouses, with our lawyers, with our clergy, with our medical professionals are not absolutely private. A judge in certain circumstances can order all of us to testify about what we saw or remembered or heard. There are really important constraints on that, but the general principle is one we?ve always accepted in the United States, and it?s been at the core of our country. There is no such thing as absolute privacy in America. There is no place outside of judicial authority.? Comey also made a point of saying that, while the FBI has no business telling American citizens how to live and govern themselves, the tech companies have no business doing so either. This came as a direct response to the open letter many tech company higher-ups signed last April that demanded the US government end the mandates that would require access to encryption keys for the interests of law enforcement and national security. Naturally, these Silicon Valley leaders don?t agree with Comey, and neither do all of his peers. Nuala O?Connor, who holds the titles of president and CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology as well as the first Federal Chief Privacy Officer for Homeland Security, had little good to say about the ideas of her respected peer. According to O?Connor, ?He could not be more wrong on encryption.? What are your thoughts on Director Comey?s views? Do you think any government has the inherent right to access a digital device–arguably invading the privacy of the citizen–even if it’s ultimately for the greater good? Share your thoughts in the comments, and be sure to keep checking back to White Mountain IT Services?s blog.

The project, titled the Walk Again Project, was first introduced in 2013. Scientists came together from all over the world with the goal of giving paraplegics the ability to walk again using the power of technology. The study examined eight patients who had been diagnosed as being entirely paraplegic (they can?t move or feel their legs). There were several simulations performed, but they required the use of a haptic feedback device, which issued sensory feedback when their thoughts translated to movement. The first experiment used brain-machine interface therapy combined with virtual reality. The patient would wear a device that sent brain signals to an Oculus Rift (a recently launched commercial VR headset). The patient would then see themselves walking. In the other type of therapy, the patient would use a robotic walker to help with walking therapy. The patient was suspended over a treadmill, with their legs being controlled by a robot. This activity was then sent to a computer, where the data could be analyzed. However, the most interesting type of therapy involved using the robotic legs to send brain signals back to the patient. The legs used electronic sensors, which were placed at key locations along the leg, to send signals to the patient. The idea was to offer some sort of stimulation to the patient, so that they knew when their legs were supposed to be moving. Thanks to ongoing long-term brain machine interface therapy, these patients found that they could sometimes feel–or move–their paralyzed limbs again. In particular, the treatment improved bladder and bowel function, and the treatments were so overwhelmingly successful that in many cases doctors changed the diagnoses to only partial paralysis. Scientists still aren?t sure what has caused this magnificent development, but it?s anticipated that when they do, they might be able to restore mobility to those who have been long-paralyzed. To the unfortunate victims of paraplegia, this moonshot was once impossible, but technology has provided them with a sense of hope for the future. What do you think about this development? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog.

To give you a better idea of the problem we?re referring to, let?s shine a light on an all-too-common example; website search features that don?t support quotation marks. With a more robust search tool like Google Search, users have the ability to search for exact phrases by adding quotation marks before and after the phrase. Without this quotation mark feature, a search tool will provide results pertaining to every word in the phrase, making the results potentially worthless. Make Use of Ctrl+FFor websites lacking this search feature, you can combine the in-site search with your browser?s search tool to narrow down what you?re looking for. To do this, simply enter your query into the website’s search form like you normally would, then hit Enter to display the results. If the results provided aren?t to your liking, you can narrow the results down by selecting Ctrl+F. This will cause a drop down menu to appear where you can enter a second word relating to what you?re looking for. Upon doing this, every corresponding word that?s specifically displayed on the web page will be highlighted. You can then cycle through these highlighted words to better find what you need. Use Google to Specifically Search a Website Another way to accurately search the content of a website is to bypass the website?s search feature altogether by using Google Search. With the website selected that you want to search, enter its URL into Google Search, minus the ?http://? and ?www.? Before the URL, you will add ?site😕 to end up with an entry looking like this: site:website.com. Next, enter whatever it is you want to search for, following the site:website.com. You will then select Enter to display search results pulled only from the website with the matching URL. Add Quotation Marks to Google?s In-Site SearchWhereas some websites? search features don?t utilize quotation marks, Google Search does and you can add a phrase in quotation marks following site:website.com to make use of quotes this way. This will essentially achieve what we were showing you with the first tip, but you?ll still want to remember how to combine an in-site search with Ctrl+F because not every website allows Google to crawl all of its content, like websites containing scholarly research, for example. Using these tips correctly can open up a whole new world of online searching. Did you find these tips to be helpful? Do you have any additional tips to add that will help narrow down online searches even further? Let us know in the comments.

Those users who have experienced this issue have taken to Microsoft?s forums, posting their grievances and describing their troubleshooting experiences. Unfortunately, these accounts seem to vary from user to user – some of whom are those who updated to the Anniversary version of the OS, as well as some on pre-release software testing service Microsoft Insider. Some users have found that their devices are restored to normal function after the reboot, only to encounter the issue again on the next reboot. Some find that having the OS of their desktop or laptop asleep as they plug in their e-reader tablet will prevent the BSoD issue from occurring. However, this does not seem to be a rule among those affected, as many have experienced their device crashing regardless of what they do. These experiences are documented in posted descriptions of what users did to troubleshoot the issue. However, the issue was unfortunately persistent, despite elements (like the USB cable used) being used as variables. This isn?t the first issue Microsoft has contended with since the release of the acclaimed operating system?s Anniversary update. In addition to the increased usability and features that the update brought, it also brought a bug that led to many Windows 10 users being unable to use their webcams. Neither of these issues have yet been fixed, although Microsoft has claimed that a fix for the webcam bugs will be ready in September. The Kindle issue, on the other hand, is still unknown, so there is no telling how long the device may cause compatibility issues with Windows 10. In the meantime, users who want to continue using their Kindle will have little choice than to avoid causing the Blue Screen of Death to the best of their ability, or tolerate the issues until an official fix is found. For the latest tech news and tricks, subscribe to our blog.

So, you?re convinced that cloud computing is the new way to go for your company. That?s great, and it?s an easy choice to make, seeing as the cloud affords organizations benefits such as increased productivity, improved collaboration, anytime/anywhere access, and much more. Now that you?ve decided to go with the cloud, what?s your next move as far as making this a reality? The first thing you?ll need to understand about migrating to the cloud is that it?s a much more involved process than simply performing a single software upgrade. Truth be told, properly migrating your data to the cloud involves a lot of prep work, and, as is the case with other kinds of moves like packing up your personal belongings to settle into a new house, the better prepared you are for the move, the smoother the transition will go and the less of a chance that you?ll lose something of value. ITProPortal provides some insight into what migrating to the cloud properly takes: ?It involves a complex infrastructure migration process. Good preparation is the key to success. Those organizing the migration process should ensure that all data is ready for the move and that the company network has the necessary capabilities to interact with the cloud.? This is a major reason why you?ll want a professional assessment of your IT infrastructure before deciding to move to the cloud. Preparing your network for a move to the cloud involves a few considerations: Sorting and Labeling Your FilesIt?s important to take the time to determine what files are worth saving and moving, and what files aren?t so you?re not wasting time and resources moving and storing old files that your company no longer needs. This can be a time-consuming process, but the work will be worth it in the long run. Preparing Your Network InfrastructureMigrating to the cloud comes with demands on a network that may require major adjustments to be made to your IT infrastructure. When migrating to the cloud, there are two major additions to your network you?ll want to consider; setting up a direct Internet breakout in order to distribute traffic across external networks, and multiple firewall instances in order to secure the various Internet connections. Have a Migration TimetableEven the best planned move to the cloud can take weeks or even months to complete. Therefore, you?re going to want to present your staff with an accurate timetable so the transition won?t interrupt workflow. One particular thing to plan for is how user settings will be migrated, like profiles, address books, calendars, etc. To help with this, ITProPortal advises: ?Instead of moving all their data to the cloud, more and more companies are opting for a hybrid solution. This means that some users and storage locations stay with Exchange on-premises, while the rest move to the cloud.? With all of your data successfully migrated, you will next want to consider strengthening security, archiving, and data backup in order to fully prepare your organization for the unique challenges of cloud computing. Rest assured, White Mountain IT Services is here to assist you with any challenges your organization faces as you operate within your new cloud environment, as well as to help you through every step of your cloud migration process. Reach out to us at (603) 889-0800 for any IT assistance that you […]