Recent Blog Posts
Some businesses go about their day-to-day duties without a solid business continuity plan. As explained in the above scenario, an external backup is paramount to the survival of your organization, should you face circumstances that threaten to uproot your operations. This generally entails taking snapshots of your business?s data using some sort of backup method. One of the most common methods of doing so is using tape to store data. The problem with tape is that, in physical form, it can easily be destroyed if accidentally left on-site during a flood, fire, earthquake, or another equally devastating disaster. Furthermore, tape backups can be time-consuming, so they?re generally performed after hours; even then, they?re usually only performed once every 24 hours or so, which means that you run the risk of losing that much data in the face of a disaster. Since tape backups often need to be run manually, they?re also more prone to user error than other automated systems. These are just a few reasons why it?s important that you consider your backup and disaster recovery solution carefully. There?s nothing wrong with using tape, but it?s an outdated system that pales in comparison to other, more modern solutions. You want a solution that stores your data in a secure, off-site data center. Unlike data backup, data recovery is the act of restoring from the backups stored in a data center in order to offset data loss caused by any number of variables, like the destruction of hardware, or even user error. The quality of data recovery is generally based on how quickly it can restore your data; therefore, the faster a solution can get you back in action following a major loss of data, the better an asset it is to your business. Of course, data backup and disaster recovery are two very different things that often go hand-in-hand. Take, for instance, our Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR) solution. It?s a backup solution that takes multiple snapshots of your business?s data, which is then stored off-site and in the cloud for later access, combined with rapid data recovery that helps your business get back in action in a moment?s notice. Unlike our BDR, tape backups can be time-consuming, and when time is of the essence, it can be difficult. BDR ensures that your data is always backed up and readily available when you need it most. It should also be mentioned that our BDR solution has the ability to temporarily take the place of your server in the event of a hardware failure. This adds to the value of your investment, and can help you get the ball rolling again while you decide how to replace your hardware. If you?re ready to start taking proactive measures to ensure the continuity of your business and its data, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
Do You Rely too much On Your Smartphone? How can you tell if your mobile technology use has reached addiction levels? To help you self diagnose your condition, ask yourself these seven questions regarding smartphone addiction. The more questions that you answer positively, means the more power that your device holds over your willpower. Are you ever without your smartphone? Apart from the obvious like when you bathe (though, there exists accessories for this purpose), is there ever a time throughout your day when you don?t have your smartphone within arm?s reach? Also, if you do happen to become separated from ?your precious,? do you find yourself feeling antsy? Is your smartphone a table accessory? By this we mean, during mealtime, do you leave your smartphone on the table, keeping it within reach as if it were an eating utensil? This is a problem because meals are one of the most social experiences that humans can have together. If you can?t stop checking social media during this time, then you?re cheapening the social experience of the meal. How many times per day do you check your phone? To find this out, think about how many times per hour you check your smartphone. Now multiply that number by how many hours you?re awake each day. The result might be higher than what you?re comfortable with. Continuously checking your phone, especially when you?re not expecting to receive a communication, is a telltale sign of addiction. Where do you place your smartphone when you sleep? Keeping your phone within reach when you snooze will only exacerbate the problem. For example, receiving a call or notification will disrupt your sleep, which can leave you groggy and moody the next day. Also, if you use your phone as an alarm clock, the temptation is to check your notifications as soon as you turn off the alarm. Having your smartphone be the last thing you look at before you go to sleep and the first thing you interact with when you wake up isn?t good. Do you ?take care of business? when ?taking care of business?? Do you use your phone while going to the bathroom? That?s gross. In the name of common decency, stop. Just stop. Do smartphone notifications change your emotional disposition? The problem with this is that notifications happen suddenly and unexpectedly throughout the day. If you get flustered with every notification, this will affect your overall state of emotional well-being. Given the chance, do you choose to communicate using your smartphone instead of face-to-face conversations? We?re not talking about texting norms like messaging a friend about the ETA of your visit. Instead, we?re talking about texting people from across the room, and purposely avoiding a person because you?d rather message them over Facebook. If left unchecked, these patterns of behavior can develop into a crippling social anxiety. Did these questions hit a little too close to home? If so, here are four steps to take back your life from your smartphone. Take a simple approach to your technology. One of the characteristics about mobile technology is that it gives you access to a wealth of time-wasting apps. Instead of downloading every app that comes across your plate because it ?looks cool,? try minimizing the apps and devices that you use to the […]
From a performance standpoint alone, SSD might not necessarily be worth the extra expense; that is, if we?re talking about using the machine for the day-to-day operations of a regular, run-in-the-mill business. For tasks like word processing and data entry, basic computer hardware will get the job done. However, if you’re purchasing the new computer to use it for a media-heavy task like rendering video and high-end gaming, then we think you?ll find SSD worth the extra expense. Now, if the HDD vs SSD debate ended here, then it really wouldn?t be worth covering in our blog that addresses the everyday technology needs of SMBs. After all, computers equipped to render HD graphics are specialty machines, and those in this line of work are likely already decided on this issue. Rather, for the everyday business owner who?s primarily concerned about value and ROI, what makes this topic worth covering is the fact that SSDs have been proven to last much, much longer the HDDs. Hard disc drives have a reputation for lasting five years before failing and needing to be replaced. Additionally, when we?re looking at HDDs being used continuously, like in a server unit, then the average lifespan drops down to four years. This, according to a recent study by Backblaze which analyzed the lifespan of more than 41,000 drives used in their data centers. Due primarily to the fact that SSDs don?t have any moving parts which cause quicker deterioration, like with its HDD counterparts, they?re able to last much longer. How long are we talking? For an accurate number of how many years an SSD drive will last, the tech industry is still crunching the data and trying to come to a satisfactory conclusion. What makes finding out the lifespan of an SSD interesting, is that one can?t really judge this by the number of years that the drive is in service, but rather, how many writes it can handle. To that end, TechReport did a study where they saw more than 700TB of data read and written to a single SSD before it failed. Lifehacker has put this obscene number into perspective: These drives usually come with a three to five year warranty, and manufacturers assume you?ll write 20GB-40GB per day in data. That means to get to that 700TB, you?d have to do 40GB every day for 17,500 days, or about 50 years. 50 years! That?s an epic lifespan for a computer drive and it blows the 4-5 year lifespan of an HDD out of the water. Plus, concerning the TechReport test, a 700TB lifespan for SSDs is just the beginning. Many of the SSDs tested ended up lasting well beyond that mark. As explained by ArsTechnica: The other three SSDs are still working and have made it past 1PB of writes, and TechReport?s torture test remains ongoing. However long the drives do end up lasting, it?s definitely long enough to put to rest a lot of fears about current-generation SSD lifetime limits. For the computer user on the fence about going with HDD or SSD, findings like these should help to clear things up. If you?re looking to make a computer purchase that you?re expecting to get less than five years of use out of, and you?re looking to save some cash, then HDD […]
It Seems Android Wants Its Users to Get a Better Night?s SleepIf you commonly use your phone?s alarm clock, you might have already noticed this rather irritating new feature. When you put your phone on Silent (though Android?s new setting title, ?Mute,? seems more apt), it literally puts an end to just about any sounds or notifications you might receive. If you put your phone in Silent mode, you?ll notice this settings box. It clearly reads that it silences alarms, which might put getting up on time in the morning in jeopardy. Thankfully, there?s a pretty simple way to fix this issue, but it?s not an incredibly obvious one. Instead of simply allowing your alarms to function in Mute mode, you have to set your phone to only go off for ?Priority interruptions.? Alarms are always considered priority interruptions, so as long as your phone is set to only go off for them, you shouldn?t have any problem making sure your alarm goes off in the morning. To set your phone?s sound to only go off for priority interruptions, turn up your volume to Sound or Vibrate by using your volume buttons. Then, select Only allow priority interruptions. This will open up a menu beneath your selection. Click Settings. You?ll finally be able to view the Priority interruptions settings. Despite it looking like you can set your phone on silent and still keep your priority interruptions settings, don?t be fooled; these only work when your phone is in Sound or Vibrate mode. Although, it should be said that unchecking messages, phone calls, and reminders in Sound mode is essentially the same as being in silent mode, while still allowing you to use your alarm clock. A star will appear next to your alarm clock symbol in the top part of your screen if you?ve successfully set your priority interruptions. Afterwards, make a test alarm to make sure you?ve configured your device correctly. It would be a shame if you went to all of that trouble just to miss your alarm and be late to work. Or, you know, you could buy an alarm clock dedicated to waking you up in the morning; but what fun is that when your smartphone performs the same function? For more best practices and technology tips, keep your eyes peeled for next week?s tip of the week.
As explained by Gartner?s IT glossary, ?The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects that contain embedded technology to communicate and sense or interact with their internal states or the external environment.? With more devices connecting to the Internet than ever before, concern for the topic of network security is at an all-time high; and considering how these devices are designed to interact with one-another, it?s no wonder why. The Internet of Things presents a number of challenges to the modern business, but all of them involve some sort of data security concern. Naturally, you want to prepare your business?s network to protect sensitive data and other confidential corporate information. Due to the way The Internet of Things exchanges data and communicates with other devices, protecting this data is no small task. The same protective measures that work against other types of threats aren?t nearly as effective when it comes to the IoT. According to Brian Partridge of 451 Research, there are a couple of variables that are common throughout the vast amount of different IoT devices: a device, a network, and a cloud service. Furthermore, there are three challenges posed by The Internet of Things that plague IT professionals: Confidentiality Challenge: Limiting access to data on a user-by-user basis. For example, the average employee doesn?t need access to your financial records. Integrity Challenge: Making sure that data is sent and received securely, without being altered, detected, or stolen while in transit. In other words, this is making sure that your data isn’t vulnerable to attack while it?s moving from one system to another. Authentication Challenge: Making sure that received data is coming from a legitimate source. To this end, we highly recommend that you call White Mountain IT Services for any and all concerns you might have about The Internet of Things and network security. We can equip you with security tools like a Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution, which is designed to take a multilayered approach to keeping your data safe. For more information, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
