The Skinny on the Penetration Test The penetration test is effectively a controlled hack completed by a security professional that tries to find potential vulnerabilities. Your IT is a vast series of connected pieces of software and hardware. Any one of these applications or machines can have outdated components or holes that can allow hackers to squeeze into your technology and then wreak havoc.  A penetration tester will do exactly what a hacker would do and is typically trying to get specific knowledge about the strength of your network defenses. This is called ?ethical hacking?. You might discover during the test that a system you thought was impervious is not-so-safe after all. Penetration tests are important because it is much easier to prevent data breaches than it is to respond to them?as is the case with technology problems in general. It?s better to keep them from becoming problems in the first place by taking preventative action before that can ever happen. Penetration Testing is More Than a Vulnerability Assessment Sure, the main reason to get a penetration test on your network is to find vulnerabilities, but it provides a lot more information than just your potential vulnerabilities. When you have a penetration test done, it puts stress on your system to see how it responds under pressure. Let?s take a look at three types of penetration tests and what they do for your business: Black box testing – The tester goes in blind. They know nothing about the network or what to target. This type of testing might be used if there are no specific problems that need to be addressed. White box testing – The tester goes in with full understanding of the network, often looking for specific problems that need to be addressed. Gray box testing – The tester has partial knowledge of the network. In other words, they don?t have the whole picture, but they have some of it. Depending on the results of the test, a report can be generated detailing just how far along the simulated data breach got, what was stolen, and so on. It is then up to the business to course-correct, taking all of the appropriate measures to ensure that the attack cannot happen for real. Reach Out to Us Today! White Mountain IT Services knows that cybersecurity can be a challenge for small businesses, especially those with limited resources at their disposal. This is why we offer comprehensive IT solutions, chief among them cybersecurity, to aid you in your mission. We want to make it as easy as possible for your business to operate in an efficient and safe manner. To this end, we can help you with building robust cybersecurity, including scheduling your business for a penetration test.  To learn more about what White Mountain IT Services can do for your business, give us a call today at (603) 889-0800.

There are three big ways that AI will likely continue to be hugely beneficial to businesses in the near future: automation, decision making, and generative AI. Why AI-Powered Automation Isn?t Going Anywhere Let me ask you this: is it more worthwhile to have one of your team members spend their day sorting data into a spreadsheet, or for them to spend their day actively engaged in profit-generating activities? Take your time. I?ll wait. All offices have those rote, menial tasks that?while necessary?do little more than take up valuable time. Many of these tasks can be quite effectively addressed through automation, particularly when that automation is guided by artificial intelligence. A great example of this is the customer support chatbots that can be found on more and more websites nowadays. By automating a time-consuming aspect of customer service, your employees can start their interactions with your clientele from a much more knowledgeable point?and again, this is just one example. Why AI-Supported Decisions Aren?t Going Anywhere Let me ask you something else: would you rather make a decision based on your gut instinct, or one based on hundreds and thousands of compiled data points that have been condensed into clear and actionable insights? Again, I?ll wait. With so much data generated nowadays, it is almost becoming necessary to use artificially intelligent tools to give you a bird?s eye view of it all. Using AI, identifying business opportunities and other recognizable patterns becomes far easier and faster, allowing you to better optimize your business? time and efforts.  Why Generative AI Isn?t Going Anywhere You?ve probably heard about the things that people have managed to do with generative AI platforms in recent months. A piece of artwork generated by AI won a prize at the Colorado State Fair, social media has been filled with people uploading images generated by AI, and AI-generated text is better than it has ever been. While it isn?t quite time for creatives to start looking for alternative employment opportunities (or, better yet, educate themselves on using these kinds of tools to their own advantage), this use of AI isn?t going to go away. Investments are already being planned for these kinds of technologies, and as the capabilities of these platforms scale up, its use is only set to expand further. So, What Does This Mean for Your Business? Simple: start looking for opportunities to use AI to your advantage, starting now by automating what you can. Getting used to this technology?s potential and applying it to today?s workplace will only leave you in a better position when it eventually becomes the norm. We can help you implement the solutions necessary to put automation to work for you. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

Let?s explore the concept of a global identity system in the context of the metaverse, as well as the different paths that might be taken. What is a Global Identity System? In simple terms, a global identity system is the infrastructure a user has in place to manage their online identities, whether that?s a single identity used everywhere or a unique identity for each service accessed through the metaverse. As you might imagine, this is a sizable challenge?and that?s even before you consider that this system needs to be simultaneously user-friendly and secure. Not an easy order to fill. Let?s touch on some of the approaches that have been proposed: A Single Identity Perhaps the simplest option, each user would have a single online identity that would follow them throughout the metaverse that was managed through a centralized system. It is important that we address the downsides of this approach up front, starting with the privacy concerns that a centralized system presents. This kind of system is also much more vulnerable to attack. Furthermore, creating a universally-accepted system would be challenging to say the absolute least. All that being said, a singular identity is far easier to keep track of than numerous ones would be, and in terms of security and privacy, centralization enables better controls to be put in place. In a centralized system, identity theft and fraud could be more effectively tracked as well. Multiple Identities Alternatively, a user could have different identities, each used for different purposes. This would do more to help preserve privacy and security, particularly as multiple identities are more challenging to take down than a single one would be on its own. However, the more identities a user would have, the more difficult it would be to keep track of them all?how many of your numerous accounts can you list, even now? There?s also no guarantee that all platforms would accept all identities, not to mention the challenges it presents to building trust (one of the foundational principles of these platforms). A Decentralized System In keeping with the overall approach that the metaverse takes, a decentralized system would be a fitting strategy. By having the different participating organizations each run a node in the system, the system would see the security benefits of decentralization. Alternatively, edge computing could be used to process data in a decentralized manner, improving overall performance and eliminating a centralized point of failure for attackers to target. This approach isn?t without its drawbacks, either. First, all the nodes need to be synchronized for the system to work and remain secure. There?s also the question of getting people to adopt this kind of system as compared to the more familiar and traditional centralized approach. The Debate Likely Won?t End Soon, But the Outcome Will Be Interesting Time will only tell how the identities of those using the resources in the metaverse will be arranged. It is completely possible that a combination of the above approaches will ultimately be deployed, or perhaps something totally different and new. In the meantime, you can count on White Mountain IT Services to assist businesses in New Hampshire with managing their IT, no matter what shape it takes. Find out what we could do for you by calling (603) 889-0800.

Why Use a QR Code? QR codes allow you to create a scannable code that any individual with a smartphone can use to gain practically immediate access to a resource. Some of the commonly linked resources for QR codes include the following: Website links Sharing media, like images or video Social media accounts File sharing Surveys and other types of feedback collection Cashless transactions Connect to emails! Perhaps most importantly of all right now is that QR codes allow you to do a lot of things in a contactless format, whether it?s distributing materials for a presentation or accepting payments on the spot. In a post-pandemic world where everyone is a bit concerned about the spread of germs, it?s no small wonder that QR codes have taken off and established themselves as important parts of the business environment. How to Make a QR Code Google Chrome has a built-in QR code generation function that lets you create codes for web pages with just a couple of clicks. All you have to do is locate the web page that you want to share, right-click, and select Create QR Code for This Page. A little pop-up box will appear with the website?s URL and an option to download the newly-created QR code. Codes created in Chrome will sport a little dinosaur in the middle of the code. If you want to share media and other types of files, if the file is located in the cloud, you can simply use the same method to share the content via QR code. What are you going to link to with your new dinosaur QR codes? Be sure to let us know in the comments.

Creating a Dropdown Menu in Microsoft Excel First, you need to create the list that your dropdown will reference as its options. On an Excel sheet, create a new table that contains the various options you want included in your dropdown. Once that?s completed, select the cell where you want your drop-down menu to appear. Once the right cell is selected, navigate to the Ribbon and find the Data tab, and from there, find Data Validation. In the window that appears, go to the Settings tab and?under the Allow box?select List. In the Source box, identify the range that is populated by the table you created with your options, omitting the cell that contains the title. If it will be okay for people to leave the selection blank, make sure that the Ignore blank box is checked, and of course the In-cell dropdown box is as well. Under the Input Message tab, you can set your cell to display a message when it is selected by checking the Show input message when cell is selected box. You can then add a title and the message you want displayed. The Error Alert tab allows you to notify someone when they?ve entered something that isn?t included in your predetermined list. Check the Show error alert after invalid data is entered box and provide your desired title and message in the appropriate boxes. You also need to pick the Style of the alert. Information or Warning won?t stop someone from putting data not included in the list in, and will display a blue circle with an ?I? in it or the yellow warning triangle respectively. Stop will prevent someone from entering data not included in your list at all. Creating a Dropdown Menu in Google Sheets Google Sheets presents you with a few methods to create a dropdown menu. If you want to use specific words or numbers, you should first select the cell or range of cells you want to use for your dropdown and select Data from the toolbar, followed by Data validation. A panel will open, where you can select List from a range to define the Criteria. A menu will open, where you should select List of items. In the box next to the selection, type out all the options you want your dropdown list to present, only separated by commas. For instance: banana,orange,apple,grape A small downwards arrow will appear by default in the cells used for your dropdown, but you can disable this by unchecking Show dropdown list in cell. Click Save, and you have your dropdown list. However, if you want to base your dropdown off of data already in your spreadsheet, you should again select the range of cells you want populated by your list. Again, select Data and Data validation, and leave Criteria set to List from a range. In the box, provide the range of cells that already have your list populated. So, if your list ranges from F5 to F12, type in F5:F12. You can also click on the small grid pattern that appears in the entry box to manually select the cells to include. Click Save, and once again, you have your dropdown list. Hopefully, this tip helps you organize data that much more effectively. Reach out to White Mountain IT Services to find out […]