A perfect example of this is an ad which was placed on the White Shark Channel of the Telegram messaging service: ?Selling a Chinese man in Sihanoukville just smuggled from China. 22 years old with an ID card, typing very slow.? That ad, listing the sale of a human being, offered a price of about $10,000. Human Trafficking is Connected to Cybercrime Many people in China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam have become the victims of human trafficking under the guise of promising employment opportunities. They might believe they have an amazing job lined up, when in reality, they are traveling to a different location only to be held against their will and forced to work under the duress of beatings, torture, and starvation. These victims are forced to work by defrauding people online, and they are essentially held captive and forced to engage in this activity until they make enough money to leave. These victims are also frequently moved or sold to other organizations, which consequently increases the price of freedom. The victims are forced to participate in ?pig butchering? scams. These scams entail the scammer ?fattening up? the victim by pretending to be their friend or fostering a romantic relationship, while simultaneously drawing out money into an investment platform. Once the victim has run out of money, the scammer cuts off all contact and leaves with all of the cash. Due to the shame of being fooled in this way, many victims do not report this kind of fraud. These operations are well-oiled machines that have their processes properly outlined and provided to their enslaved workforce. They are even told to create social media accounts to make everything more believable. These profiles are then stacked with photos and interests that give them an air of wealth, like sports cars or posts about investment. They even tap into such precious memories and feelings like family values to gain the victims? trust. After the accounts are created, these trafficking victims then reach out to their victims. One scammer reported working with eight other scammers organized under a leader, who provided them with 10 phones to use for outreach. Scammers then took notes on the victims that might be useful in perpetrating the scams. All of this ?customer mapping? gives the attackers an idea of how successful their attempts at scamming might be. This is all done with the attackers being essentially victims themselves. They cannot call law enforcement, or they risk being sold off to another organization, and they might even be forced to make statements which absolve the company of their crimes. Long Story Short: Coercion is Bad While we never want to advocate for the actions of scammers and hackers, it?s also important to note that in many cases, it?s a matter of their being taken advantage of. You might not be the only victim in this dynamic. The other major takeaway from this is that criminals often treat cybersecurity like a business. They might have several horrific ways to make their ends meet, but it?s very organized and sophisticated in the way it is run. In any case, it?s important to note that your team should be able to identify these types of threats in addition to the more in-your-face and obvious ones. To learn more about how […]

Let?s examine this developing technology and consider a few ways that the same concepts could eventually make their way into modern businesses. Researchers at the University of Chicago are Developing a Health Monitor Housed in an Adhesive Patch Under the leadership of Assistant Professor Sihong Wang?who, incidentally, was named one of MIT?s 35 Innovators Under 35 in 2020 for precisely this work?the team at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering has been generating a chip that uses machine learning to process data collected from various biosensors. By creating this chip using flexible polymers, it effectively becomes a sticker, capable of utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning to draw conclusions about the wearer?s health. As Wang puts it, ?With this work we?ve bridged wearable technology with artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a powerful device which can analyze health data right on our own bodies.? Should their work pan out (as it seems to be), this will mean that wearable biosensors will one day be available to assist us in managing our health, helping us to keep track of various health indicators like blood sugar, oxygen levels, and other metabolites. So far, they?ve shown that this technology can accurately track electrocardiogram data, and the potential for these devices is considerable. It is important to recognize, however, that this data is inherently sensitive in nature. This means that it will be important to focus on how this data is to be secured. There?s a Lot Here That Could Play into Business Operations While a flexible diagnostic chip may have limited functionality in the office space, it demonstrates how capable technology can potentially be?largely independent of human interaction in many cases. Instead of a neuromorphic computing chip meant to collect and analyze health data, businesses now have access to tools that can independently track data, kicking off workflows based on certain inputs and automating many processes. In short, while the team at the Pritzker School are focused on proactively monitoring human health, your business has the opportunity to use IT to proactively monitor your technology infrastructure. We?re here to help you embrace this opportunity, ensuring that you do so securely and effectively. Learn more by giving us a call at (603) 889-0800.

In this blog article, we?ll be covering how you can print on both sides of your paper, assuming that your printer has the capabilities to do so. If it doesn?t, well, maybe it?s time for an upgrade! This is something our trusted technology professionals can assist with; just reach out to White Mountain IT Services for more information. Without further ado, let?s print something out double-sided. How to Print Double-Sided in Microsoft Word Printing double-sided in Microsoft Word is one of the easiest things you can do. All you have to do is go to the File tab. From here, select Print. This will open up the Print options (you can also use the Ctrl + P keyboard shortcut to get here). Under Settings, you should see a dropdown menu with various settings related to printing, one of which will default to Print One Sided. This is the key to double-sided printing. Now, you?ll see a couple of different options for Print on Both Sides. There are options for Flip on Long End and Flip on Short End. This basically dictates how you want to print the content on the other side. If you are printing something like a brochure in landscape mode, we recommend flipping on the short end. If you?re printing out a normal document that is viewed in portrait mode, then we recommend sticking with flipping on the long end. There is also the option to manually print on both sides, but if you have time to waste doing that, then you have time to waste calling us and to get hooked up with a better printer. Printing double-sided can be a great way to reduce your office?s paper consumption, but an even better way to do this is by going paperless altogether. If this sounds like an idea you want to pursue further, we?re happy to help; just give us a call at (603) 889-0800! For more great tips and tricks, be sure to subscribe to White Mountain IT Services?s blog.

Today?s Smartphones Device reviews have allowed many individuals to create business models for themselves covering the latest devices on the market, and considering their reach, manufacturers have to cater to them to an extent, even if the average user isn?t going to notice some of the minor year-to-year changes. Most of the improvements are made to the cameras with only slight increases in performance and processing. Aside from the recent surge in folding phones, most devices look fairly similar to each other. All flagship smartphones have a 5 nm processor or better, 356 GB of flash memory, 8 GB of RAM, and a bezel-less display. Despite this, consumers? desires for an upgrade drive manufacturers to improve the device with each iteration, no matter how small, so that people can feel like they are getting their money?s worth out of the new device. What You Should Look For First, let?s take a look at the form factor for your desired device. Most smartphones look the same, save for the innovative new folding smartphones with foldable OLED screens. While they are quite pricey, they offer opportunities for manufacturers and developers to do something differently to stand out. So, what should you look for in a new device? Let?s take a look. Build Quality Your smartphone?s build quality will impact how long the device lasts while also impacting the user experience. Most high-quality smartphones are built using a stainless steel or aluminum frame covered with tempered glass, like Corning?s Gorilla Glass. The higher the quality of the materials, the better the user feels. Display Most of today?s flagship devices have wonderful displays, and since most users will use their devices for media consumption, this is no mistake. You?ll want a larger display if this is important to you, but there are other mid-range devices that have perfectly usable screens, even if they are flagship devices from a couple years ago. Processing Power This is where some smartphones start to outpace their competition. You?ll want a device with a multi-core 5 nm processor. This probably doesn?t mean much to most people, but typically most modern mid-range and flagship-level devices meet or exceed what you would probably need. This impressive processing power means that you essentially have a small computer in your pocket, so you will naturally want to look for the best computing value for your purchase. Camera Most manufacturers will highlight the high number of megapixels in their cameras, but many other factors impact the quality of a camera, including the number of lenses, their focal length, ISO levels, pixel size, and autofocus. Cameras on smartphones are one area that sees substantial improvement over the years. You can usually rely on Apple, Samsung, and Google to have the best cameras across their lines of phones. Battery Your smartphone?s battery will directly affect how reliable it is, so you need to take it into careful consideration. If the device has to be plugged in, you?re not getting much mobility from it. Most phones you should want to use have at least 3,000 mAh batteries. We should note that foldable smartphones will use more power than your traditional smartphones, too. Operating System When you purchase a smartphone, it will typically run either Apple?s iOS or Google?s Android OS. Most phones will use some version of […]

Growth is Natural for Successful Businesses Businesses invest a lot of capital into their computing infrastructures, including their servers, storage, productivity solutions, and other tools. All of this complex technology must be managed and maintained by your staff, making for a significant time and labor investment, as well. The cloud changed all of this. Businesses seemed to be wary of the cloud at first, as they were fearful that it would put data at risk. These days, however, it?s a moot point. Businesses use the cloud for all kinds of services and features, even some organizations you might not expect. The cloud provides several opportunities for businesses to change the way they operate. Whether it?s virtual servers, workstations, data storage, applications, or more advanced tools like business intelligence or artificial intelligence platforms, the cloud offers no shortage of tools for the modern business. It?s so dynamic and useful that some companies opt to house their entire infrastructure in the cloud, and better yet, it?s done in a secure and reliable way. Cloud Scalability Is the Key Let?s take a step back in time and remember the days when businesses would have to purchase multiple software licenses for each individual workstation on the company network. These licenses would be purchased once a year, and they would be incredibly expensive for short-term resources. The cloud changes things by allowing you to adjust your solutions according to the immediate needs of your business. You can purchase computing solutions from a provider on a month-to-month basis, and all it takes is creating an account to get started. Types of Cloud Scaling Here are some ways that you can expect cloud scaling to look for a modern business: Vertical Scaling: Vertical scaling entails adding resources to your cloud platform, like adding a new user to your productivity suite or email platform. It can even get as complex as increasing the specs of your virtual servers. Horizontal Scaling: This type of scaling involves adding new servers to a cloud computing environment. You might see this type of scaling when organizations implement more advanced or more powerful tools, like a PBX server for VoIP. Diagonal Scaling: This type of scaling is like an all-of-the-above method, manifesting when you have to add new resources to each of your servers due to an increase in use. If you?re waiting for someone to tell you what the best way to approach cloud scaling is, you?ll be waiting a while. It will depend on what type of business you are and what your needs are. The best part is that scaling is flexible in nature, so you can make adjustments as needed. White Mountain IT Services can help you make any necessary changes to your cloud infrastructure. To learn more, contact us at (603) 889-0800.