What Constitutes Wearable Technology?Most forms of wearable technology consist of devices that can easily be worn by fitness enthusiasts, who use the technology to track their progress and monitor their body?s physical well-being. However, the wearable technology industry has been gaining traction in recent years, with devices that are designed to improve productivity and efficiency for the average office worker. As explained by CyberTrend: A 2014 Parks Associates study projected that smart watch sales will reach 121 million units worldwide by 2018. Similar to a smartphone or smart TV, a smart watch can connect a user to the Internet for access to real-time data. Generally, smart watches will offer users some basic features (current weather, music, access to email and texts, etc.), which are also available on smartphones. Depending on the model, some folks can use their smart watches to control their smart TVs, capture pictures, video chat, and run scaled-down versions of common smartphone apps, in addition to using the device as an activity tracker. While wearable technologies have varied uses, not all is well for these devices. Despite their increasing popularity, how practical are they when compared to the devices they?re mimicking? For example, the smartwatch gives its user a lot of information that could just as easily be obtained by using a smartphone. Furthermore, it would be much easier to use a smartphone to find this information, rather than on the miniscule screen of a smart watch. When it comes to smart glasses, like Google?s failed Google Glass, the question of privacy has crippled the progress of the industry. The main concern with Google Glass was the idea that confidential information could be shared much more easily than if the data was found on a laptop or a workstation. How Do Wearables Affect Your Workplace?If you have workers taking advantage of wearable technology while in the office, you should be aware that any Internet-connected device presents risks that can be taken advantage of by hackers. The trends known as BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) and the Internet of Things (IoT) present a significant issue for security-minded businesses. With more devices connected to your organization?s network, there?s more chance that data could slip through the cracks and be stolen by the odd hacker. This is why it?s important to keep a close watch on the devices that your employees are bringing to work with them. You want any devices that have access to corporate information to be outfitted with a mobile device management solution that?s designed to limit what types of information can be accessed by certain applications, remotely wipe any compromised devices, and so much more. You don?t want your business to wear its data on its sleeve. Contact White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800 today to find out how you can achieve greater data security from mobile devices.

Turn On ?Airplane Mode? The best way to eliminate distractions from your mobile device is to turn it off or get rid of it entirely. Of course, this is easier said than done, and you may not be able to do this if you still need to access important data on your device, like your contacts, calendar, and clock. Instead, try switching your phone to airplane mode. This will cut off your device from the Internet, along with the phone?s wireless network, all while leaving you with access to apps and data stored locally on the device. With no more phone notifications to bother you, you?ll be able to focus like never before. When you?ve completed the task at hand, simply turn off airplane mode and your phone will display all missed notifications, phone calls, and voicemails. Bonus tip: Most of us use our phones as our alarm clock. You can use airplane mode to make sure that you?re not awakened by a notification or a phone call, while still having your alarm to wake you. Use Headphones to Ward Off PeopleA person with headphones on is basically communicating to the world around them, ?please don?t bother me.? Some people are respectful of this boundary and will only interrupt a sweet jam if it?s absolutely necessary. Yet, be warned, every office seems to have a dullard who can?t take the hint and they?ll still interrupt you with yet another hilarious cat video. You can even locate music that?s created for the sole purpose of helping people focus, like Spotify?s ?Focus playlist.? Remember, just because you have your headphones on, doesn?t mean that you have to listen to music. For example, if you?re not wired to work while listening to music, then you can just have your headphones on for the sake of telling people to bug off. Schedule Times For Email Checking Having your email inbox open all day so that you will notice every incoming message will derail your productivity. Instead, try keeping your email app closed throughout the work day, except for the times you have scheduled to check your email. By only checking your email a few designated times each day (and perhaps your social media too), you?ll be able to easily focus on the message at hand, instead of having to glance at every new message that comes across the wire. In fact, you can even use an email autoresponder tool to notify people of the times that you check your email so they won?t expect an instant response. And if a person happens to really need to get a hold of you at that very instant, they could always just give you a call (that is, unless your phone is on airplane mode). Following these three productivity tips will go a long way in weaning you off your device and turning out workplace distractions. Do you have any additional tips that help you focus better at work? Let us know in the comments!

While it?s also important to consider your current IT infrastructure before making any drastic changes to your technology, you should also be aware of what cloud computing can help your business accomplish. Here are four ways that cloud computing can improve the way you do business. Growth ManagementA good cloud computing solution is capable of helping your business better manage its growth. The primary reason for this is that cloud solutions are generally scalable to meet the specific needs of a business, allowing for custom solutions that can be changed or updated with ease. Businesses might experience peak periods or go through hiring spurts, which means that their infrastructure is subject to change, making cloud computing an attractive choice. Increased ProductivityTaking advantage of cloud computing for your applications means that you can make them available to whoever needs access to them from a number of different devices. An example of this is hosting your productivity suite, like Microsoft Office or Google Drive, on a cloud server where they can be accessed by your team from any location. This helps them stay productive by improving access to mission-critical systems. Cost ReductionsIt?s a well-known fact that introducing brand new technology to your IT infrastructure can be a costly endeavor, and one that?s not kind to your budget if unplanned. One of the key benefits of cloud computing for small businesses is the decreased need for expensive hardware like servers and workstations. By hosting your IT infrastructure in the cloud, you can reduce the energy costs of operating this equipment, and consolidate your systems and make them easier to manage. Enhanced MobilityIn much the same way that cloud computing allows businesses to access their applications from remote locations, cloud computing helps organizations access data from various locations on a number of different devices. In other words, organizations don?t have to feel restricted by the office anymore. Employees can work anywhere, anytime, be it from the comfort of their own home or while abroad on a business trip. More than anything else, the cloud allows companies to be more flexible with their assets and finances. Your business can benefit from the cloud, too. Contact us at (603) 889-0800 today and ask our professional IT technicians how the cloud can improve the way you do business.

Here are three sure-fire ways that you can leverage technology to meet your company?s future goals. Try Leasing IT EquipmentHaving to upgrade your IT infrastructure comes with the territory of using technology; the trick is to make upgrading as easy as possible on yourself. To this end, it?s much easier to upgrade equipment that you?re leasing than it is to pay upfront for an expensive piece of hardware. One way to ensure this is to include a hardware refresh in the terms of your lease. This way, upgrading your tech won?t cost you any additional fees and you won?t get slammed with a major bill at the worst possible time. As a budget-conscious business owner, you might feel skeptical about having to shell out monthly for IT equipment. The upside to this is that your IT technology turns into an operating expense, instead of a capital expense. This cost-saving measure frees up capital funds for your company?s overall budget. Use an IT Roadmap to Accommodate Future GrowthOne major pitfall that business owners make with their IT infrastructure is to lay it out in such a way that it only meets their current IT needs. A setup like this is sure to cause problems in the future when you experience growth, or you have to upgrade in a major way to account for technology trends. For example, an IT system that?s designed for the future will include enough open access points so that new employees can easily be onboarded, without having to lay out new wires and upgrade your firewall solution. Even if you?re not planning on adding a ton of new staff in the near future, you will still want to account for IT trends like BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) so that your employees can connect their multiple mobile devices to your network without experiencing any issues. Another IT trend that requires extra bandwidth is the growing use of video conferencing. An IT network that can?t accommodate a trend like video conferencing will cause you to miss out on potential sales opportunities with clients and partners who want to hash out details by way of video chat. Go With a Flexible Cloud ServiceThe advantage of cloud computing is that a third party hosts and manages your cloud solution. This makes it easy on your operations, but if you?ve not thought through what your future cloud needs will be, then you?ll find the cloud to be a hindrance if the company managing your cloud solution isn?t flexible. NetworkComputing explains: Cloud deployments tend to be dynamic — not static — and must grow or shrink depending on the requirements of the client. Any agreement with a managed service provider (MSP) needs to cater to the variability that the consumptive nature of the cloud provides. When it comes to implementing technology for your business, it pays to do so with the future in mind. White Mountain IT Services can help your business in this way by taking time to listen to your company?s current and future IT needs, before recommending a solution. Keeping the future in mind will ensure that you will be able to take full advantage of how technology can benefit your business, instead of having it hold you back. Call us today at (603) 889-0800 to prepare yourself for whatever the future has […]

As reported by WIRED, CIA Director John Brennan was the victim in question. His AOL account was broken into by a hacker who claims that he weaseled into Brennan?s account by posing as a Verizon worker. In other words, the hacker used a targeted spear phishing tactic, in which he posed as a worker, to trick another employee into handing over information required to access Brennan?s account. In this case, it was the last four digits of Brennan?s bank card. The teenage hacker and his associates then proceeded to change the password on Brennan?s email account, and gained access to his inbox, which contained secret government documents from Brennan?s work email address, which he forwarded to his personal inbox (a practice that?s highly frowned upon in matters of government secrecy – just ask Hillary Clinton). According to WIRED: After providing the Verizon employee with a fabricated employee Vcode?a unique code that he says Verizon assigns employees?they got the information they were seeking. This included Brennan?s account number, his four-digit PIN, the backup mobile number on the account, Brennan?s AOL email address and the last four digits on his bank card. ?[A]fter getting that info, we called AOL and said we were locked out of our AOL account,? he said. ?They asked security questions like the last 4 on [the bank] card and we got that from Verizon so we told them that and they reset the password.? AOL also asked for the name and phone number associated with the account, all of which the hackers had obtained from Verizon. The scary part of this entire situation is that the victim wasn?t at fault for the data breach. This situation just shows how easy it is for hackers to obtain sensitive information that they can use to infiltrate your systems. Security questions like ?What is your mother?s maiden name?? or ?What was your first pet?? are easy enough to answer for a hacker that?s hell-bent on stealing your information. A solution to this dilemma is to take proper security precautions that are designed to keep hackers out of your accounts by utilizing several security layers. The first step toward implementing this is to use a strong password that?s made up of several different letters (both upper and lower-case), numbers, and symbols. Strong passwords make hacking into an account significantly more difficult, even for seasoned hackers. The second step is to integrate two-factor authentication for your accounts. Two-factor authentication requires a secondary credential in addition to your normal login credentials, making it that much more difficult for hackers to gain access to your account. These credentials are usually sent to your smartphone in the form of a SMS message, an automated voice message, or even to your secondary email account. In other words, hackers need physical access to your device in order to obtain this credential. White Mountain IT Services can help your organization set up the two-factor authentication solution that your business needs in order to maintain top security protocol. Just give us a call at (603) 889-0800 and ask us what we can do for your business.