Keep Your Software Up to Date When you have dozens of applications in use at your organization, there?s a greater chance that you?re forgetting to update or patch at least one of them in a timely manner. The truth of the matter is that staying on top of patches and updates is challenging on its own without all the other challenges that come with the territory of IT management and maintenance. In particular, mobile apps and lightly-used programs can be overlooked, so be sure to update all of your solutions regularly so you aren?t accidentally exposing your business to potential threats. Use Secure Passwords and Multi-Factor Authentication Even security-minded people might use the same password for various accounts simply because it?s convenient, but this is poor password hygiene. Focusing less on convenience and more on security goes a long way toward improving password practices. Try out the following: Use different passwords for different accounts: Never use the same password for multiple accounts, as it increases the chances of one security breach turning into several as more and more accounts are compromised. Use different, complex passwords for each of your accounts. Use complex, easy-to-remember passwords: Your passwords should not be simple. They should be complex, using upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols, and difficult to guess. That doesn?t mean you can?t make them easy to remember, though. You can use passphrases?strings of unrelated words?to great effect. Pick three words, then make the requisite adjustments for the complexity requirement. Length is better than complexity: Obviously complexity shouldn?t be overlooked, but length is also important for password security. Simply put, the more characters that are in a password, the more characters have to be correct and in the right order to crack an account. Multi-factor authentication and password management tools are great ways to augment your security measures, as well, and should be implemented wherever possible. Think Twice About Your Wireless Connections Working remotely is a pretty common practice nowadays, and security becomes more of an issue when work is being conducted out of the office and off the security of the in-house network. Remind your employees that wireless connections in public places, and even in their homes, can be considered risky, particularly if those connections are unsecured. We recommend that all businesses implement a virtual private network to give their employees the ability to encrypt data while it?s being transferred from one network to the next. If any of the above sounds like something you could be doing a better job of, we recommend you contact us at (603) 889-0800. Our technicians can work with your team to optimize security for your business today.

Meetings Do, In Fact, Waste Valuable Time In a report by Asana titled The Anatomy of Work Global Index 2023, which examined ways to improve collaboration in the workplace, meetings were a notable topic of discussion. The report suggests that meetings are a primary culprit of wasted time in business, and they should be reexamined to improve operations. Does This Sound Familiar? The Anatomy of Work found that unnecessary meetings consume 2.8 hours of work each week for the average knowledge worker, and those in leadership roles spend an average of 3.6 per week in unnecessary meetings. Furthermore, those in leadership roles are 30% more likely to miss deadlines because they simply have too many meetings and calls on their schedules. Clearly unnecessary meetings are a problem?an idea supported throughout the report. Other information in the report suggests similar numbers. For example, ?work about work? consumes 58% of the workday. When you compare this to time dedicated to skilled work (33%) and the time dedicated to strategic work (9%), you have a real problem on your hands. What Does the Report Suggest? Asana does provide some guidance on how to resolve this issue: ?Focus on smart collaboration. Look for ways to streamline processes, not add more meetings.? Basically, you get more intentional work done when you?re not wasting time in unneeded meetings. How Your Business Can Collaborate More Effectively Asana has outlined some ways for ?how leaders can turn data into action,? including the bit above about collaboration. They also provide other important tips that you can use to get more done, including the following: Providing Shared Goals and Objectives The biggest misconception about collaboration is that it has to be something that is accomplished with others in tandem. Two people can collaborate and communicate without being in the same physical or virtual space, though. The synchronous methods of communication and collaboration are well and good for when it is needed, but asynchronous methods are just as helpful, if not more so. Let Us Help With Your Collaboration Efforts White Mountain IT Services can help your business implement collaboration tools to aid both in and out of the conference room. You?ll find your meetings are much more efficient. To learn more, call us today at (603) 889-0800.

Why am I so confident in saying so? Simple: everything we have today in the modern world was once an earth-shaking discovery?in many cases, first conceived in fiction. For Instance, You Wouldn?t Be Reading This If Writing Wasn?t Invented There?s a lot that we have the ancient Mesopotamians to thank for, which are in many ways the foundations of our modern world. Every time we go to the office or the store or a friend?s house or even order delivery, we?re feeling their influence literally carry us. Who do you think actually invented the wheel? Or, in the case of ordering delivery or zipping to the store, agriculture, and transportation? The modern economy pretty significantly depends on math to function?which the Mesopotamians also significantly helped develop. Again, if the Mesopotamians had never invented written language, you might not be reading this blog?and if the number of love letters exchanged through history are any indication, a lot of people might not be here at all. Even the content of this ancient civilization?s written works show evidence of technologies that once were seen as incredible enhancements. The Epic of Gilgamesh, the first example of a transcribed epic story, shows numerous technologies being used by the titular hero in his quest as he pursues immortality?all of which are relatively commonplace, if not antiquated by today?s standards, but at the time, were seen as miraculous. AI is Just the Latest in a Line of Literary Inventions That Will Likely Be Just as Commonplace Artificial intelligence was yet another invention of past minds creating a story?specifically, in writer Samuel Butler?s 1872 addition to his creation Erewhon, titled The Book of the Machines. In this work, Butler touches on a variety of topics that we see today, including Moore?s Law (beating Moore by just shy of a century) by describing the rapid development of technology as well as artificial intelligence, with machines achieving some level of consciousness over time. So, it seems that at least two things are true: There really isn?t any such thing as an original idea. Technology will continue to advance, making the marvels of yesteryear seem modest in comparison. Just consider how quickly the technology that people use for work (a lot of which was predicted/inspired by the popular culture of the past) has advanced. Frankly, it can be hard to keep up, even with the technology we have at our disposal today. As Bob Dylan sang, ?For the times they are a-changin.? While we still can?t promise a lot of what is seen in fiction from years past, there is plenty we can provide to assist your business in its endeavors. Give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800 to see what we can do for you as a part of our managed services.

Here are the two methods you can use: Manual There is a method to manually create your shortcut, but when we say ?manual,? it?s not nearly as complicated as it might seem. Just right-click anywhere on your desktop and select New > Shortcut. When you see the dialog box, type your website URL into it and select Next. You?ll then be asked to enter a new name for your shortcut. After you?re ready, go ahead and click Finish. Your new icon should appear on your desktop. When you right-click on your icon, you can then select Properties to see the information for the shortcut. You can even change the URL if you want, assign a shortcut key, or change the icon. All you have to do to change the shortcut key is to click in the designated box and type the key you would like to use for your new shortcut. The system will then show you your key combination for the shortcut. Click-and-Drag This is the easier of the two methods, and all it takes is a click and drag of the shortcut?s URL to your desktop. This will also assign your shortcut a name associated with the website page?s name. Basically, it expedites the process and makes it just a bit faster to do. You can then right-click the shortcut, select Properties, and continue the process outlined above in the same way. It?s a pretty simple process, but it?s a pretty powerful result. You now have a shortcut to whatever webpage you need! You could also just use bookmarks, too, but we?re all about empowering users to learn more about technology and grow their confidence in using it, so even little tricks like this can be fun to share every once in a while. White Mountain IT Services can help your business implement technology tools to work toward its goals. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Here are three reasons why you should consider replacing your ISP?s router with one that is hand-picked by your IT resource, or us at White Mountain IT Services. Your ISP?s Router is Nothing Special When you set up your ISP?s router, it might have been fine for the short-term, but you may have noticed that as your business grows, the router might not be able to keep up with your company?s wireless traffic demands. This is because the router is bare-bones in nature, i.e. something that is good for the general consumer rather than something designed specifically for businesses, let alone a business like yours. When so much of your company?s success hinges on access to wireless resources and networks, you shouldn?t leave anything up to chance; you should replace that router with one that suits your company?s needs. Security is a Main Factor As is the case with most technology in a business environment, you?ll want to consider security in your decision making process. The router your ISP provides might have the minimal required security standards in place, but they will not cut it for a business that houses sensitive information and transfers that information over a wireless network. Replacing it with a router that can stand up to the security standards you expect for a business-grade connection will be vital to your organization?s success. You Will Likely Need Multiple Bands and Connections At least, we recommend that you do, for a variety of reasons. Your ideal router will have multiple different bands for different types of devices. For example, some Internet of Things devices don?t need to operate on the same frequency as other, more powerful devices, like your company?s servers and workstations. Furthermore, we recommend that you get a router which allows you to create multiple networks. This is helpful for businesses that want to allow guests or employees to use personal devices on the network, while partitioning off the main network for business devices. This is also helpful for security reasons, so do try to set things up this way when possible. If you need assistance with procuring new hardware for your networking needs, White Mountain IT Services can help. We?ll work within your needs and your budget to get you the solutions your business needs to make the most out of its Internet connection. To learn more, call us at (603) 889-0800.