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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.

What are some of the benefits that you can expect to achieve from integrating a guest wireless connection? For one, you can greatly increase your customer satisfaction rating. In service-type industries like fast food restaurants and cafes, customers will come in to use the wireless signal, and in the process they will purchase food or coffee. Translating this to the professional environment is kind of a stretch, but being able to access the Internet while visiting the office is sure to put a smile on any visitor?s face, and it could potentially make or break a deal with prospective clients. Here?s how you can plan for a guest WiFi hotspot. Consider Your Current Internet ConnectionOne major variable to consider before implementing a guest wireless hotspot is whether or not your Internet connection can handle the increase in users. You want to make sure that you have enough bandwidth to sustain not just everyone in your office, but guests as well. Ask yourself how many users you can expect to use it at any given moment, and what purposes they?ll be using your wireless for (for example streaming music or videos requires a ton of bandwidth). You need to ensure that your connection can accommodate the increase in traffic. Some guest WiFi solutions also allow you to restrict bandwidth on a per-user basis. Be Sure to Secure the ConnectionWhen integrating a guest WiFi hotspot, use the same precautions that you would consider for your private wireless connections. Your guest connection should require a password that someone in your office can provide. Otherwise, you might get some wireless scavengers loitering around, which doesn?t look good for your professional image. You should keep an antivirus, firewall, content filter, and other security measures active on your network to prevent incriminating content from being browsed from your WiFi location. There are even WiFi solutions that enforce users to have antivirus running on their device before letting them connect, as added protection. Contact a Professional IT TechnicianBefore attempting to set up your own guest WiFi hotspot, it?s a best practice to contact a professional IT technician like those at White Mountain IT Services who can understand and interpret your business?s computing infrastructure needs. We can help your business determine what it will take to handle the increased traffic, and we?ll work with your organization?s individual needs in order to make your technology work toward your goals. White Mountain IT Services can help your organization set up and utilize a guest WiFi solution that?s designed to keep your organization safe, while allowing your guests to benefit from the web. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

The exploit in question is capable of pulling off all sorts of stunts by using Siri or Google Now to administer silent commands to your device. The targeted device needs to have headphones plugged into it to act as a receiving antenna, like the headsets that you might use to communicate while on the go. The antenna acts in a similar manner to FM radio chips to communicate with mobile devices. ZDNet explains further how this particular exploit works: With the open source GNU Radio software on a laptop, electromagnetic signals can be sent to those devices. Depending on the sent command, Siri or Google Now can be told to open up a website, send a text, place a call or do any other number of things. It?s also explained that the tools a hacker would need to pull off this exploit successfully include a laptop and some sort of antenna, but this equipment could easily be concealed and taken advantage of in a bag. Of course, the entire exploit is dependant on whether or not the device user is using a wired headset, and many users probably won?t have them in the device when not in use. The researchers even went so far as to demonstrate how the hack works. The exploit worked from approximately six feet from the phone, but it?s estimated that the signal could extend up to 16 feet with a powerful enough battery and antenna. The good news about this powerful equipment, however, is that if hackers want to achieve this further range, they?ll have to use a significantly larger machine that probably isn?t nearly as portable as a laptop. Furthermore, it?s very likely that users will realize what?s happening while the hacker is using the exploit. Since the hack doesn?t disable the display on the device, it?s possible to detect what?s happening to the device and prevent it from occurring if you?re paying attention to it. Hacks like this are why it?s so important to practice proper smartphone security. While it?s not known whether or not your device?s lock screen can be ignored by this exploit, it?s best not to take chances and ensure that you?re using some sort of login credential for your device. What are your thoughts on this concerning new development? Do you think there?s a possibility that this kind of exploit could take off, or do you think that Google and Apple will nip the vulnerability in the bud before it has a chance to be exploited? Share your thoughts in the comments.