Hosting provider Marco Marsala was brought under fire after he posted on a server forum seeking advice for dealing with a catastrophic error he made while trying to erase a few files. Stating that he had utilized the ?rm -rf? command with undefined variables, he had inadvertently destroyed all data on the computer. What?s worse, his backups were mounted to the computers and were wiped as well. This is actually a similar blunder that Pixar experienced, almost deleting Toy Story 2 prior to its release. As a result, everything Marsala had for his company was destroyed (including the websites he had created and hosted for his 1,535 customers) with no backups surviving to restore from. Needless to say, the responses from other users on the forum were decidedly negative – a few dismissed the possibility of his company surviving the error, and others questioned his abilities as a programmer. One poster recommended Marsala seek legal counsel rather than technical advice, as he predicted that Marsala was ?going out of business.? There was a consensus on the feed that the best chance for any data recovery was to recruit the help of a data recovery firm. Fortunately for Marsala, such a data recovery company was able to recover his files and his biggest hit was financial–both from the recovery company?s fees and from the reduced income due to the loss of business he suffered. By neglecting to follow best practices in regard to backups, Marsala essentially invited this disaster to strike. Following basic best practices would have mitigated much, if not all, of Marsala?s problem. What happened to his data is exactly the reason that all data backups should be kept offline, isolated from the original file on a separate system. Without such measures in place, your data is subject to not just human error, as was the case here, but also other dangers. Fire, electrical surges, accidental equipment damage, theft, all of these events have the potential to jeopardize data that?s critical to your business. Are your data backups as secure as they should be? Do you even have a backup and disaster recovery solution put into place? Be certain by calling White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800. Our experts can advise you on what your business needs to survive the worst disasters, and assure that you and your clients? information are prepared for anything.

Wirelessly Charge Your Smartphone?s Battery Nokia is currently developing a way to use radio waves to charge a phone?s battery while it?s on standby. How?s this work? Here?s a fascinating video of one practical application of this technology known as the Nikola Case, named after the genius inventor and pioneer of wireless technology, Nikola Tesla. Smartphones Provide Live Traffic UpdatesHave you ever looked at Google Maps and wondered how they?re able to show live traffic updates on obscure roads? Well, it turns out that Google tracks the movement of Android phones using GPS technology and feeds the data to Google Maps for live traffic updates. Of course, one has to wonder if this is all Google is using this information for. Smartphones Deter Nuclear Warfare If, however, your smartphone?s GPS determines that the device is traveling at a speed of more than 1,200 mph, and at an altitude higher than 60,000 feet, it will automatically shut off, as required by law. This may explain why you never see Superman using a smartphone. In actuality, this is a regulation known as COCOM (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls), designed to prevent GPS technology from being used to guide intercontinental ballistic missiles–just in case North Korea gets any bright ideas. The Reason Behind Waterproofing SmartphonesOne of the latest trends in smartphone technology is waterproofing, as seen in the latest line of Samsung Galaxy smartphones. For Westerners, this feature might feel like a bit of a novelty–something that?s nice, but not at the top of our wish list. However, in Japan, this waterproofing feature is a necessity, thanks to teenagers that prefer to use their smartphones while taking showers. How many of these smartphone facts have you heard of? Can you think of any more odd smartphone facts that you can add to this list? Share them in the comments!

Windows 10 uses what?s called a Windows Spotlight feature to show you ads on your lock screen. You can find the setting for Windows Spotlight in the Personalization settings. Chances are that if you are using the default settings suggested by Windows 10, these ads are enabled. Thankfully, you can easily switch them off for good in just a few steps. To get started, open up the Settings app, either by going through the Start menu or searching for Settings in the search bar/Cortana field at the bottom of the screen. Then, click Personalization. You?ll see several options for changing your background image, altering the color of the operating system, setting themes, and changing the appearance of your Start menu. You want to click on Lock screen. Once you?ve selected Lock screen, you?ll see a preview of what your lock screen will look like. Windows will also display options for how you want your lock screen to look. You?ll see Windows spotlight among the options, which is responsible for showing the ads. If you want to remove the ads, click something like Picture or Slideshow, which will present a more personal, ad-free appearance on your PC. By selecting either Pictures or Slideshow, Microsoft will no longer shamelessly push ads to your lock screen. We recommend that you choose a background that reminds you of a nice, safe place; perhaps somewhere you want to go to for a vacation, or something that reminds you of home. Pick something that you?re passionate about that can have a positive influence on your workday. One last note: consider turning off the Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen slider. This helps to make sure that annoying ads don?t find their way onto your lock screen. Or, if you don?t mind the ads, you can provide feedback to Microsoft for how to better suit your specific needs. Actually, if you want really great tips, tricks, fun facts, and more, why not just subscribe to our blog? To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

One of the latest vulnerabilities in open-source software can be found in 7zip, a file archiver and decompresser. 7zip has been found to have several security vulnerabilities which have software developers rushing to fix their products. The damage done extends far beyond 7zip, reaching both people who use 7zip itself, and developers who have used the technology in the creation of their own tools and software. There are two vulnerabilities, which were discovered by Cisco?s Security Intelligence and Research Group, Talos. In particular, the security report focuses on the fact that these types of vulnerabilities most drastically affect antivirus software programs and others which host compressed or encrypted files. The real issue that comes from these 7zip vulnerabilities is how widespread the software is used; for example, many companies may be using software which supports 7zip without realizing it. ZDNet explains in full detail: ?The first vulnerability, CVE-2016-2335, is an out-of-bounds security flaw caused by the way 7zip handles Universal Disk Format (UDF) files. When partition maps are scanned to find objects within the file system, there is a lack of proper checking which can cause a read-out-of-bounds problem. If exploited, cyber attackers could use the vulnerability to execute code remotely.? ?The second security flaw, CVE-2016-2234, is an exploitable heap overflow vulnerability found within the Archive::NHfs::CHandler::ExtractZlibFile method functionality of 7zip. In the software’s HFS+ system, files can be stored in a compressed format using zlib, and depending on the size of the data, this information may be stored in blocks.? In Simple English: These recently discovered vulnerabilities could be executed by hackers to gain control over your device and data. Also of note is that this technology should be a reminder of what happens when an open-source software that?s used in many places across the Internet becomes vulnerable. While it?s definitely not as scary as Heartbleed, the vulnerability in OpenSSL that struck in April of 2014 that allowed for the theft of encrypted information, these vulnerabilities in 7zip could have been much worse. Thanks to the efforts of Talos and the 7zip developers, the vulnerabilities have been patched and are available in the latest version of 7zip, V.16.00. Keep in mind that previous versions are still vulnerable to the aforementioned issues and should be updated as soon as possible. This also goes for any software that your company uses that takes advantage of 7zip. For more information on the latest security vulnerabilities, as well as information on how to protect your organization from potential threats, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

This past January, Microsoft stopped supporting all versions of Internet Explorer that aren?t the current version: Internet Explorer 11. This means that there are many unsupported web browsers that are lacking patches and security updates, including Internet Explorer 7, 8, 9, and 10. Half of the PCs that currently run Windows XP are still running Internet Explorer 7 and 8, which is a recipe for disaster. To determine what version of Internet Explorer you are running, open up the browser and go under Help and look for an option called About Internet Explorer. Some versions of IE don?t have a help menu. If you don?t see it, look for a Gear Icon. Researchers at Duo Security discovered these statistics following an analysis of over two million devices. In particular, those who are running Windows XP were the main culprits for running older versions of Internet Explorer. Naturally, the combination of these two pieces of unsupported software practically begs hackers to target these systems. It was also found by Duo Security that 72 percent of Java and 60 percent of versions of Flash are also out of date on user devices, both of which can potentially open up even more outlets for attacks by hackers. It?s a testament to how end-users will handle their technology; if they don?t perceive an immediate threat, they will often put off upgrading software for the sake of convenience. This is a disaster waiting to happen, and it?s your responsibility as the business owner to ensure that you?re not putting your business?s workstations, servers, and other components, in harm?s way. While keeping your business?s critical technology infrastructure up-to-date with the latest security patches and updates is a challenge, it?s still a necessary struggle. You can?t allow a single workstation or server to put the integrity of your organization?s infrastructure on the line. You shouldn?t let the same old technology hold you back from achieving greatness with your IT infrastructure. The good news is that it doesn?t have to be a struggle. With White Mountain IT Services at your side, upgrading your technology is as easy as can be. We can thoroughly assess your business?s specific needs, and consult you on how best to move forward with your technology upgrade. The important thing to keep in mind is that you should always approach tech upgrades with caution. The last thing you want is to make a drastic change to your infrastructure, and render it obsolete. White Mountain IT Services can remotely monitor and maintain your business?s critical systems, administering patches and security updates without the need for a costly on-site visit. This saves you money in the long run, and you won?t have to worry about missing an important update for your solutions. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.