What is Business Email Compromise? Unlike other threats out there, business email compromise, or BEC for short, does not require incredible technical skills to pull off, making it a dangerous prospect indeed. BEC is when a hacker or scammer convinces the user that they are someone within the organization?usually an authority figure or executive?and asks them to transfer funds for a variety of reasons. You wouldn?t believe it, but this kind of request actually works. After all, nobody likes to turn down a request for help from the boss, right? According to the FBI, BEC has cost businesses upwards of $43 billion, and this number is growing larger by the day. Furthermore, companies in at least 177 countries have been reported. How Does BEC Work? Really, all it takes is for a hacker to do a little bit of research into the organization, determine who they can feasibly impersonate through email, spoof that email account, and contact employees within the organization using that spoofed email address. These types of social engineering attacks are uncomplicated and can pay off in spades if the hacker can manage to pull them off. Other types of BEC are more dangerous and difficult but are equally lucrative, if not more so. Hackers can break into the actual email account of the executive or employee and keep watch over their inbox to look for legitimate purchases that need to be fulfilled. This combination makes for a dangerous and convincing request, and an eager employee might not think twice before fulfilling the hacker?s request. What Can You Do About It? We always like to recommend that you implement the best and brightest email security solutions out there, as well as multi-factor authentication to ensure that anyone who logs into your business-critical applications is who they say they are. Ultimately, however, who falls for business email compromise attacks will largely depend on how well you have trained your staff to identify and respond to these types of attacks. Security training should not be a one-and-done deal; you need to provide comprehensive training during the onboarding process while also providing periodic refreshers to keep security at the top of your team?s mind. White Mountain IT Services can equip your business with the comprehensive security tools to keep themselves safe, as well as the training needed to identify these types of hacks before they accidentally allow a hacker to make off with your business’ hard-earned capital. To learn more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
This trick can be used in Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Google Chrome. It?s incredibly helpful, too, since it works on just about any mobile device, desktop, or laptop. How to Save Pictures and Files on the Internet as PDFs The functionality enabling users to save files as PDFs comes from the browser?s feature called Print to PDF. This feature is built into most web browsers, and if you are using Mac and Apple devices, you can use the free Shortcuts app to create your PDFs. To keep this blog simple and easy to follow, we?ll cover Google Chrome in our examples, but know that the process is largely the same for other devices, as long as you know where the Print option is for your preferred browser. First, you?ll have to navigate to the file you are trying to save as a PDF. It doesn’t matter whether it?s an image, a web page, or otherwise. If you?re trying to save a web page, then you don?t have to do much else. If it?s an image, however, you?ll want to open it in a new tab. To do this, right-click the image and select Open image in a new tab. Next, select the three-dot menu near the top of the screen. You?re looking for the Print option. You can also opt to use the keyboard shortcut, which is fairly universal: Ctrl + P. This is where you want to follow closely. For your print Destination (where the printer is normally selected, you want to Save as PDF instead. Once you are ready, you can click Save and you?ll be all set. Just determine where you want to save the file to. This basic process is largely the same on other devices and operating systems, with hardly any exceptions; one notable exception is that Firefox doesn?t have this feature on mobile devices. For more tips on how to use technology to its fullest potential, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.
Before we get started, keep in mind that if it sounds like too much to handle, White Mountain IT Services has your back! All you have to do is call us at (603) 889-0800. Maintain Your Security Solutions This might seem a little obvious, but it?s really the most important part of keeping your network secure. Missing patches and updates or having inconsistent standards or practices with your devices can lead to security discrepancies. These problems only get worse when your employees aren?t involved with such practices, too. Thankfully, there are a couple of different ways you can improve the efficacy of these security practices. Here are some of them. Establish Standards for Your Devices If there?s one thing that hackers are, it?s efficient. They will always look for the easiest way to infiltrate your network, i.e. the path of least resistance. You can prevent a lot of security issues if you simply establish a security standard for all devices on your network. This means that the weak link isn?t so easily leveraged or identified. Look at it from the perspective of the robber. If they know the back door is unlocked, they aren?t going to climb in through the second-story window, right? Manage Your Patches Similar to the above analogy of the robber, they might discover that the windows of the house might lock well from the inside, but are remarkably easy to open from the outside. On the surface, it looks like the home is protected, but it?s really quite vulnerable. If the manufacturer offers to solve the problem, you?d want to take advantage of the opportunity. This is what patch management is all about. These types of solutions deploy security improvements to address vulnerabilities and other security issues. Reliably testing and installing these patches will ensure you are playing your part in protecting your organization. Keep Tabs on Permissions and Access Control Taking the analogy even further, you might give a set of house keys to your neighbors who you have known for a decade, but you wouldn?t give a set to the newbie on the block. This is a simple form of access control, and you delegate access to your home in a specific way to keep it safe. Access controls for your network and data work in the same way. You don?t need everyone accessing the same parts of your infrastructure or the same data. You want to limit exposure to those who need said data to perform their day-to-day tasks and responsibilities. Simply put, the fewer people who have access to resources, the less opportunity there is for user error to strike or for security issues to come into play. Don?t Stop There; Do All You Can Today! If you want to optimize security for your organization, don?t stop here; call us at (603) 889-0800 today to find out even more about what you can do to keep your business safe.
What is the Command Prompt? The command prompt is a tool built into the operating system of your computer that is used to execute various commands. These commands look like brief strings of text that are entered into the command prompt box with the blinking cursor. The command prompt is most notable in the context of old MS-DOS systems, as it was used to navigate the system itself, much like how we use the keyboard and mouse today. Why Do People Use the Command Prompt? The command prompt is also frequently called the command-line interface program, or CLI. It uses executable files to perform various tasks. They will generally include the command name in addition to the conditions upon which the command will execute. Commands can be used for just about anything, with some of the more notable ones being to copy or delete files, format a disk drive, configure network information, ping an IP address, or shut down the operating system. It?s not a question of ?what can I do with it,? rather, it?s ?how do I want to do it?? Will You Ever Need It? Back in the day, computers were more difficult to navigate, as users had to do so through the use of the command prompt. Users would plug in specific commands to perform whatever they needed. These days, there is no such need, as the user interface of modern technology is much more user-friendly. Some tools aren?t accessible through the graphical user interface, but only your IT administrator will really need to use them. Now, if you?ve ever looked into coding, you?ll know that it?s not simple and you need comprehensive knowledge to perform various tasks, particularly where an operating system is concerned. This is why we recommend you steer clear of the command prompt, unless of course you are a trained professional. If you have questions about the command prompt or other parts of your technology infrastructure, we?d be happy to answer them. Just reach out to us at (603) 889-0800 to get in touch!
Who knows? You might notice a couple of new features on your device following the update. Updating Your Android and Samsung Devices First you?ll need the Internet to receive these updates, whether it?s through your mobile service provider or from a Wi-Fi connection. You should also bear in mind that your smartphone will restart during this process. When you are ready to go through with the update, go to your Settings application. From the provided options, select System, then System Updates. After you select this option, your device should start looking for available updates. If any updates are available, they?ll appear on the screen. Depending on how old your device is, there may not be any updates available, but if it comes to this, you probably shouldn?t be worried about updating your device more than actually replacing it. If you see updates that are available, you can tap the Download & Install Now button. This might take a while, so get comfortable and wait for your device to reboot a couple of times to install new updates. If you are using a Samsung device with Android installed, you can go to the Settings app and select Software Update. The screen will tell you if there are any updates available. If not, then you can either check for updates yourself, or download and install them, right from the menu. It?s as easy as that. Now you can use your Android device, properly updated and ready for productivity. What kind of tips would you like to see us cover in future blogs? Let us know in the comments.
