Recent Blog Posts

As most of you are probably aware, government agencies clearly don?t need the help of Microsoft?s products to collect information. In fact, many users of Google solutions like Gmail and Google Drive have surely already been exposed to data collection. Despite this, many privacy advocates have some major concerns, many of which are completely founded. Here are three of the default settings of Windows 10 that arguably violate user privacy. Advertising IDOne pet peeve of some Windows 10 users is the advertising ID function. Each user is automatically assigned an ID which is tied to the user?s email address. Windows 10 collects data about the user and uses this information to customize advertisements that might show themselves while browsing the Internet. CortanaDue to the nature of Cortana, it needs access to various essential data in orderto deliver the services it?s meant for. Still, it collects far more than what she needs to. In order to replicate the experience of having a personal assistant, Microsoft has Cortana collect as much as it can in order to provide the best user experience. This presents privacy issues for some, but they?re likely no more intrusive than Cortana?s competitors: Siri and Google Now. Windows Modern AppsAt the heart of this privacy conflict is the use of Windows Modern and Universal Apps. Each of these apps is capable of collecting your location, just like the Windows 8.1 versions did. Ultimately, though, it?s the way that these apps report this information to Microsoft?s servers that?s causing so much trouble for users. For example, when using the very useful OneNote app, the content of the notes are synced with the Microsoft servers. While many users are more than willing to sacrifice some of their privacy in return for better services, others aren?t so liberal when it comes to their computing information. The fact that Windows 10?s default privacy policy deliberately collects and shares information with Microsoft?s partners seems almost criminal to privacy advocates. Still, there are ways you can mitigate the amount of information that you share with Microsoft, but at the cost of some of Windows 10?s more dynamic features. First, you need to access the privacy menu, which can be found in the start menu. Simply open the start menu, then click on Settings and select Privacy from the pop-up. If there?s one thing to be said about Windows 10, it?s that there are a ton of options. All of the above settings offer increased performance capabilities, at the expense of the user?s privacy. The first suggestion we have, if you feel as if Microsoft doesn?t need to know every movement you make on your home PC, is to disable the targeted advertising ID. Next, you can turn off SmartScreen Filter to keep Windows Store from syphoning links to Store items. Some users will want to leave this feature on, but turn off the others. For instance, ?Send Microsoft info about how I write,? is a fancy way of saying ?keylogger.? Despite its uses being directly linked to Cortana?s functionality, it?s still somewhat intimidating. Click on Location and you?ll be taken to a list of applications that collect information about your location. Services like weather, traffic, news, and Cortana all collect this data and use it to provide relevant information to the user. This only […]

Yes, that?s right. The mighty Thor, Norse mythology?s god of thunder and lightning, rained down his mighty judgement upon one of Google?s Belgium-based data centers. Whether or not he was tricked by his brother Loki, the Norse god of mischief, into frying the data center is yet to be determined. It?s safe to say that the data center, which was used primarily to host Google?s Cloud Platform, sustained heavy damage; precisely what you might expect from four consecutive lightning strikes. Despite Thor mistaking Google?s data center to be the mighty jaws of J?rmungandr, the infernal serpent of Midgard, about 5% of the disks in the center could no longer read or write data. This translates to roughly a 0.000001% loss of the center?s data, on which Google reported that ?in these cases, full recovery is not possible.? While it might seem like such a small perchange, much less than even 0.5%, is a negligible amount of data and hardly worth mentioning, the odds are is that it isn’t your data that was lost. Depending on how much information you have stored up from your time as a business, losing even a fraction of your data can be a complete and total detriment. When you lose files, especially important ones, it could have far-reaching effects on your operations infrastructure. So, naturally, it?s imperative that your organization has some type of backup and disaster recovery plan put into place. Of course, a technology juggernaut like Google (as you might expect) did, in fact, have measures put in place to protect against freak accidents like a singular lightning strike. However, it?s unlikely that any data loss measure can protect from the immense amount of natural energy produced by four lightning strikes. So, the lesson we all can learn from this situation is that your business always needs to be prepared for disasters that can?t be predicted. Despite the completely absurd chance that this situation were to happen again, Google assures users that they?re taking steps to make sure that such a catastrophic loss of data is avoided in the future. Of course, if there?s one thing that?s for certain, it?s that mankind only has finite ways to combat the awesome power of nature. A backup and disaster solution from White Mountain IT Services can help your organization avoid unnecessary data loss in the event that natural forces, like floods, hurricanes, and even lightning strikes. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 for more information.

For those of you who don?t know, CryptoLocker has been a major threat to all computer users, and will likely continue to be a major player in the hacking world for quite some time. In fact, ransomware in general has seen an incredible increase in the past few years, making it easier than ever to become a target. This, compounded by the anonymity offered by various emerging online technologies like cryptocurrency and a network called Tor, makes it exceptionally difficult to locate and capture these criminals. While this type of malware is incredibly dangerous to business owners who absolutely need access to their mission-critical data and applications, hackers are finding gamers to be a particularly lucrative ?market.? A new strain of CryptoLocker attacks gamers almost exclusively, according to Bromium Labs, essentially making them pay money for games that they?ve already previously purchased. The malware is distributed through an unidentified WordPress-based site, but the URL that distributes the malicious flash file is always changing, making it difficult to locate. Upon visiting the malicious website, the user downloads the malware unexpectedly. In fact, according to ZDNet, the majority of files targeted by this particular strain of CryptoLocker consists of games. So, if you know any gamers out there that indulge in games like Minecraft, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, or just about any other title distributed through the Steam PC-gaming platform, you should probably warn them about this danger. The researchers claim that this malware can also detect company-specific malware, like those from EA Sports, Valve, Bethesda, and more. The point of this article is to show that malware can and will evolve to survive in any way it must. This means that it will likely continue to adapt to changes in the technology industry, all to make everyone?s lives miserable. Don?t let this happen to your organization. Give White Mountain IT Services a call today at (603) 889-0800 to protect your business?s infrastructure from CryptoLocker and all forms of malware.

Unfortunately, bouncing back from a stolen device isn?t as easy as just buying a new one. It?s the data stored on the device that makes it so valuable, which is why a recent survey by IDG Research shows that 50 percent of phone-theft victims would pay $500 to get their phones back, and one-third would pony up a cool one grand. If that?s not enough of an incentive for thieves to step up their game, consider how much you would pay to get back a stolen device with sensitive corporate data on it, especially if the thief was savvy enough to take full advantage of the information on the device. And here?s the million dollar question (potentially), ?What do you do next if you discover that a mobile device containing corporate data has been lost or stolen?? While there?s a nice selection of security apps and preventive solutions that will help you remotely wipe your phone and even track its location, let?s assume that you?ve lacked the foresight to install these helpful apps and the only thing keeping a thief from having their way with your data is a puny lockscreen. What then? After you?ve panicked and ran around the office like a crazy person, stop, take a deep breath, and go into damage control mode by following these four steps: Contact Your Device?s Service ProviderYour service provider has the ability to cut off service to the phone so that it can?t be used under your name. Depending on the make, model, and service plan, they might be able to remotely ?brick? your phone, which is like a kill switch that will remotely render the device useless. Without such a kill switch, a thief will be able to swap out your SIM card so they can still use the phone, and they?ll still have access to any data actually stored on the phone?s memory. Change Your PasswordsIf a thief accesses your phone?s data, they?ll be able to view every online account connected to the device, which could potentially be dozens and dozens of accounts. Once you learn that your device has been stolen, you?re in a race with the thief to change your passwords before they can figure them out. And be sure to change the passwords to something complex so they won?t discover your passwords simply by rummaging through your phone. Report the Incident to the AuthoritiesReporting the incident to local law enforcement officials will give them a record they can use to spot trends and potentially catch the criminal. Additionally, it will give them a chance to return the phone to you, should it ever be recovered. Contact Everybody AffectedNow comes the tough part: admitting to your staff and your clients that a device has been compromised and has put their identity at risk. In some cases, you may be legally obligated to report this incident to them, which means it?s not something that you should try to cover up in an effort to save face. In fact, if you did try to cover this up and didn?t tell clients that their identities may be at risk because of the negligence of your company, then it will come back to bite you when this information comes to light. At the end of the day, most people will appreciate […]

While it might seem like it?s all in good fun (depending on how well pranks go over in your office), a worker pranking you by messing with your workstation?s desktop or settings could have far-reaching repercussions. Furthermore, you need to ensure that you?re practicing this same level of caution with every aspect of your office?s physical and digital security. Here are three best practices you can take when it comes to keeping your technology from being compromised by physical users. Log Off of Your PC Before Leaving ItYou might know that you should always log out of your accounts when you?re not using your PC, you should also lock or log off of your PC before stepping away from it. If you don?t, you run the risk of your co-workers messing with it in ways that you can?t possibly imagine. Plus, if your office is one which strangers frequent, like customers and delivery workers, it?s especially important to lock or log off of your PC before leaving it. You need to be cautious of everyone, especially those who don?t work for you. Besides the fact that it?s a best practice for security reasons, logging out of your PC is good for it. It gives it a chance to rest up for the next time you use it. Keep Mobile Devices Out of SightWhile it might not seem to be a big deal to leave your laptop or your smartphone on your desk, someone else might feel like taking advantage of your trusting nature. A mobile device that?s right out in the open is a welcome sight to most thieves. It only takes a moment for a co-worker to snatch your device to make a quick buck, so you need to take precautions by always putting away your devices when they?re not in use. A locked drawer or closet will suffice; or, if it?s actually yours and not the company?s, just take it home with you. Lock the Office Doors When You LeaveThis probably sounds like we?re stating the obvious, but it?s surprising how many organizations lock the front door, but don?t make sure that the windows, side-doors, and other entrances are secure from potential intruders. All access points need to be protected from a potential break-in. Being reliant on security measures like access codes, cards, and keys isn?t the best way to protect your assets, but it?s better than relying on remembering to lock the door. Still, you want to limit the number of employees who can unlock the office. For instance, a worker might lend their security code to a co-worker without a second thought. They might see nothing wrong with it, but what if that worker has some suspicious agenda? At that point, it?s a matter of holding employees accountable for their actions, so it?s best to be safe and just nip the risk in the bud before it?s too late. All three of these practices can be enhanced with an enterprise-level surveillance system. Having a surveillance system is a solid way to prevent threats from accessing your organization?s office, as well as helping you monitor what?s going on around the office. White Mountain IT Services can recommend the proper system and set it up for you so it doesn?t cripple your company?s network. What are some of your favorite ways […]