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Imagine this scenario; you have your entire IT infrastructure hosted in the cloud, including your mission-critical applications and data. This information is required in order for operations to continue. Now, imagine that your local Internet service provider has suffered a catastrophic outage for your region due to some unforeseeable circumstance. Now, your office is left high and dry with no Internet access. This presents a problem with no clear resolution, especially if most of your infrastructure is only accessible via the cloud. Unless you also have a backup of your infrastructure stored locally on your in-house network (which isn?t a bad idea), you won?t be able to access any information stored on the Internet. One simple way to bypass the problems associated with a downed Internet connection is to equip your office with 4G-enabled laptops or smartphones that can act as temporary hotspots. However, if you do this, you better be sure that your phone carrier supports this immense amount of data expenditure. In many cases, it?s better to just let your team work remotely if they?re capable of doing so. The most reliable choice would be to have any team that can work remotely do so until the problem is resolved. Working remotely during the incident might be a valid opportunity to eliminate downtime associated with your Internet access. As reported by ZDNet, ?It’s true that businesses are increasingly allowing for remote work and disaster planning is a good argument for it. It may even be worthwhile as an exercise. Require employees to have a plan for working offsite and schedule a day for everyone, or perhaps one department at a time, to do so. You might learn something about productivity while you’re at it. 9/11 proved that it’s possible your offices may be out of commission for a while. Do you really want to have to make up your plans on the spot when that happens?? If your business needs help implementing technology to keep your team connected at all times, you can count on White Mountain IT Services to find a solution. We can work out ways to help your employees access information regardless of the circumstances, all so you can keep downtime to a minimum. Furthermore, we can provide your business with the technology solutions required to ensure that your team can work off-site when needed. For example, a virtual private network (VPN) allows your team to securely access your business’s sensitive information from any wireless connection, allowing your team to access mission-critical files even if the in-house wireless network is down. If you?re concerned about not being able to communicate with your team while they?re off-site, we can make it much easier by helping you implement a unified communications solution that?s designed to work seamlessly, as long as you have an Internet connection. You can communicate in real time with both instant messaging and Voice over Internet Protocol telephony solutions that will make you feel like your team is right next door, even if they aren?t. For more information about how White Mountain IT Services can help bring your business back from the brink of downtime, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
What Brute Force Attacks AreBasically, you can imagine a brute force attack as a method which involves the rapid input of passwords and usernames in succession. They?re designed to crack encrypted data by finding a usable password. Most brute force hacking attacks are performed by an algorithm and can input a ridiculous amount of credentials every second. The reasoning behind the name, ?brute force,? is due to the brutal assault on the system, rather than taking a more discreet or intellectual path to hack the system. There are many different types of brute force attacks, but one of the most popular ones is the dictionary attack, in which passwords are generated with a dictionary, using popular words, in order to access the system. Why They?re DangerousAccording to a McAfee Security Report from 2015, brute force attacks account for about 25 percent of all online hacks, second only to Denial of Service attacks. One of the reasons why they?re so popular is that they can be used as a straightforward way to infiltrate privileged accounts and steal sensitive information. These attacks are typically used to access accounts and steal credentials like credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and other data that could be used for financial gain. Furthermore, brute force attacks can be used to install what?s called a rootkit on a device, or turn a PC into a bot. Most often, brute force attacks will be seen as a jumping-off point for other types of threats to terrorize the targeted machine. What You Can DoHaving a security solution put into place that can lock users out based on IP location or failed login attempts can be a great way to protect against brute force attacks. However, both of these methods can be bypassed if the hacker is using a botnet. Since the botnet consists of several infected computers from all over the world, they will have different IP addresses and be identified as individual users, rendering the aforementioned security practices moot. Another useful technology to have to protect against brute force attacks is two-factor authentication. By providing another layer of security, in addition to the required password, brute force attacks will be rendered useless. Without the secondary credential that gets sent to a smartphone or email address, any attempts to brute force an account with a password will be pointless. This is why it?s always recommended that you use two-factor authentication. Your business should be prepared to handle all types of online threats, especially those that can lead to more dangerous or destructive results. White Mountain IT Services can provide your organization with security solutions that are designed to maximize your network?s protection against brute force attacks, and other online threats that could have an impact on your business?s operations. To learn more about what we can do for your company, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
Next time you run into a PC problem that you just can?t wrap your head around, try out these six troubleshooting tips. Keep things simple: You?d be surprised by how often some of the most common problems with technology can be resolved by simply restarting it. Reset the hardware or application, check to see if the machine is plugged in properly, shut the machine down, or reboot it. After all, there?s no real reason to go through in-depth troubleshooting practices if the problem can be easily resolved with a restart. If others tried it, try it anyway: Sometimes you?ll be passed a problem that?s been tested by other people within your organization. Thinking it will help you narrow down the problem, they?ll list off what they have or haven?t done. While this might be helpful, you should trust your own judgement – perhaps they didn?t perform a process correctly, or maybe they say that they?ve tried it, but really haven?t. Don?t leave any stone unturned. PEBKAC (user error): This issue, ?problem exists between keyboard and chair,? is a common reason why you might be unable to diagnose what the real problem is. ZDNet estimates that about 80 percent of problems are due to user errors, which means that the one at fault might not be technology at all. In these cases, it?s important to accept that you might be wrong and work towards whatever the solution might be. Replicate the issue: In order to best understand a problem, sometimes it?s helpful to try to remake the issue. After all, if you know how a problem starts, you might be able to best learn how to fix it. Ask your end-users how the symptoms showed up, and what they were doing when disaster struck. Fix vs replace: Your IT budget needs to be considered when you?re choosing to either implement new technology or to fix recurring issues with your old solutions. You need to understand where the fine line between fixing or replacing lies. It makes no sense to purchase new technology if there?s still life left in your current solutions. On the other hand, hardware refreshes can be considered when you?re looking for ways to improve operations and get rid of old technology that?s no longer functional or needed. Seek professional assistance: If you can?t resolve a problem on your own, you need to realize that it?s often more advantageous to seek out professional help, rather than waste valuable time and resources by doing it yourself. Remember, there?s no shame in asking for help when it?s needed. Businesses often do this with their IT, as it can get quite technical and challenging for those who aren?t specifically trained on its best practices. Instead, outsourcing it eliminates this responsibility so that you can focus on your business. White Mountain IT Services can be your outsourced IT experts. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
The Pokemon series has long been known as one of Nintendo?s most popular gaming franchises, and with the release of Pokemon Go, the series has finally made its way to everyday mobile device users. It?s currently ranked as the #1 most downloaded free app on the Apple Store, as well as the Google Play store. The game was such a hit that Nintendo?s stock increased exponentially overnight, and the app has over 26 million users worldwide – more than Tinder, Twitter, Google Maps, and other mobile apps. However, like many extremely popular things, hackers have taken this and exploited it to do their bidding. Prior to the app?s release worldwide, many impatient fans downloaded the APK (Android application package) from third-party websites and ?side-loaded? it onto their devices. This can only be done by going into Android?s settings and allowing app installation from unknown sources. Normally, this is a red flag for any security-minded mobile device user, as some malware is known to infect devices and download apps without the permission of the user; yet, some Pokemon fans just couldn?t wait, and downloaded the APK without thinking of the consequences; like downloading a backdoor. Considering how many countries outside the United States, Australia, and New Zealand, are still waiting for access to Pokemon Go, many have chosen to just use the APK to get the app on their device, rather than wait for the official release. One particular source of the APK provides a modified version of Pokemon Go that, upon installation, installs a backdoor onto the device, which allows for remote access to the device and provides full control over the victim?s phone. The infected version of Pokemon Go is so well-done and inconspicuous that the user likely won?t know that their device has been infected. Security firm Proofpoint suggests that it?s entirely possible that, should infected devices connect to your network, networked resources can also be put at risk. Take a look at the DroidJack-infected app?s permission request, and see for yourself just how strange they might look. https://www.proofpoint.com/sites/default/files/users_content/10/pokemon-fig2.pnghttps://www.proofpoint.com/sites/default/files/users_content/10/pokemon-fig3.png When downloading any app, it?s crucial that you drive this best practice into the heads of your employees: be sure to pay attention to the permissions required by the apps that you download. For example, there?s no real reason why Pokemon Go would need to make phone calls, edit and send text messages, modify your contacts, and record audio. All of this is just asking for disaster. While exploitation of the APK hasn?t been observed in the wild, it represents a dangerous development in mobile applications, one which shows hackers taking advantage of wildly popular smartphone apps, and turning them into catalysts to spread their malware and influence. There are two lessons to be learned. Don?t download apps from unknown sources, even if they?re just games, and make sure that your employees know what your policy on mobile apps is on your in-house network. Also, be sure to examine a new app?s permissions, and only download them from the Apple store or Google Play store. Among your millennial workforce, there may be many users of Pokemon Go, so it?s your responsibility to reach out to them, and educate them on these best practices. After all, ?Gotta catch ?em all,? doesn?t refer to malware infections.
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