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Look, we?re just as sick of talking about hackers and such as you are sick of hearing about them?we?d much rather spend more time discussing how you could make your business better instead of warding off the leeches who are just trying to steal the spoils of your hard work. Unfortunately, here we are. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to help protect your small business, its data, and its infrastructure. Put More Effort Into Using Quality Passwords It?s pretty standard for computing systems to require a username and password login before access will be granted, giving you your first opportunity to tighten your defenses. Make sure that your team both understands how to create a secure password, and how important it is that they are diligent in doing so. Developing a unified password strategy will help to do this. The three elements of this process are as follows: Password creation – First, it is important that the passwords being used are secure. Best practices dictate that the best passwords and passphrases are those that are easily remembered, but wouldn?t necessarily be guessed. Your secret code can be further strengthened by sprinkling in different cases and alphanumeric switching. Password management – The average user?provided they are following best practices?will ultimately need to remember dozens of passwords. This practically impossible task becomes far easier to manage with a quality password management system?an encrypted vault that allows you to securely store your passwords behind a singular credential. Multi-factor authentication – Many modern accounts feature multi-factor authentication (also known as two-factor authentication) as an additional means of protecting verified access. With MFA enabled, anyone trying to log into one of your accounts will need to provide the correct username, password, and additional proof of identity, whether that?s a generated code or a biometric scan. The point is, improving how effective your identity authentication measures are, the more of a challenge for a cybercriminal to overcome. Maintain Your Software Secondly, you need to make sure that you are attending to any vulnerabilities that present themselves via the software your business utilizes, primarily because the software hasn?t been updated and patched appropriately. While zero-day threats may not have a patch released yet, this is just a fraction of the vulnerabilities that hackers regularly utilize. Whatever size it may be, a security-focused company will always prioritize patching and updating their software?and that?s inclusive of every piece of software a company uses, from productivity to security to communications. Naturally, this takes some time, which is why it is an integral part of the managed services provided by White Mountain IT Services as a part of our professional agreements. Not only is it important to do for your security, it also makes it far easier for us to do our jobs. Effectively, it?s a win-win. Patch and Update Software Another frequent form of infiltration into any network is accomplished through exploiting vulnerabilities in the business? infrastructure. This happens when the software that a business depends on is not patched and updated promptly. Sure, there are situations where no patch is available for a vulnerability (known as zero-day threats), but these are much less likely than cyberattackers using known vulnerabilities that haven?t been patched yet.  There are dozens of steps that can be taken to prevent hackers from […]

Technology Is Always a Thing Before we get into the question at hand, we?d be remiss if we didn?t mention that modern society is basically an example of how innovation fuels progress. I mean the spoon and the wheel were examples of technological improvement. If you consider that the whole of modern computing happened in the past century (mostly the last half century), you?d have to consider that things like the advent of electricity, the manufacturing of the first microprocessor, and the invention of modern networking were all new technologies that have allowed our society to get to where we are today.  Now to the Question at Hand So has technology made us happier? Whether it has or hasn?t, the Internet seems to have made people happier. One poll found that 90% of respondents admitted that their lives have improved due to the Internet?s existence. That probably isn?t a surprise, but it does say something about how society has changed. People rely on the Internet, especially in the mobile age. We interact with the people around us over mobile phones and video conferencing, many of us work via the Internet, and every part of our lives has some type of technology tied to it. People can now never leave their houses and live a relatively normal life (not that it is recommended at all).  But does this ubiquitous technology make us happier? There?s no way to know, but we can break down the major parts of a person?s life to come up with what will do for an answer in this space. For our purposes, we?ll consider work, leisure, relationships, and other social interactions. Work Most of us use technology for our jobs. In fact, a lot of our jobs wouldn?t be here if it weren?t for the underlying technology. Many younger workers, who have entered the workforce over the past 10 years, seriously consider the merits of an organization?s commitment to technology as a factor when choosing whether or not to apply to a company. For older workers, there has been a learning curve but with the advancements in technology, hosted systems, and automation, most people can do more actual ?work? than ever before. This improves employee morale and leaves workers with more time to themselves, a consideration that has come to be known as ?work-life balance?. With all this considered we?d have to admit that technology has made today?s average worker happier than in the past. Leisure Technology has a marked effect on the way people spend their leisure time. Activities that were once universally popular like family outings at the park, going to the mall, and even going for a leisurely drive have all been pushed out of the social lexicon because the technology that surrounds us at all times has changed the way people view these activities. For example, before we had ubiquitous technology fueled by a seemingly unlimited number of applications, people would go for a drive. They would take a day when they didn?t have anything to do and they would drive. Technology doesn?t like aimless tasks. If every task has a purpose then an aimless trek in your car is taboo. This can be said for most things. There is a reason why every video game developer puts in worthless achievements into their […]

First, you have to choose whether you want to copy an existing worksheet into the same workbook or to a new Excel file. You can do both with relative ease! Copy Your Worksheet Within the Workbook To copy a worksheet, all you have to do is right-click the sheet tab of the target worksheet and use the menu which appears. Select Move or Copy?, and after you have done so, you should select Create a copy from the options available. Select OK, and that?s it! You now have your copy, which you can edit and rename as you see fit. Copy Your Worksheet to a Different Workbook Copying a worksheet to a different book is a bit more involved, but still manageable. First, you might notice that Excel has this function built right into its user interface, but you will need to have both the current workbook and the target workbook open. On your original worksheet?s window, right-click the sheet tab. Then, you select the Move or Copy? option using the To Book option to locate the new target. You?ll see a list of open workbooks to select from, so find the one you want and make sure Create a copy is selected. Once you?re ready, click OK. You can also drag one worksheet to another, if you have both workbooks open. To do so, under the View tab, select View Side by Side from the Window group. Doing this tells Excel to split the view in two, allowing for an easier time doing this. You can then click and drag the sheet tab you want to copy from one workbook to the other while holding down the Ctrl key. Without the Ctrl key, you?ll just move the sheet over. We hope this tip helps you cut down on some of the time you might waste moving data around unnecessarily. To learn more tips and tricks to make the most of your technology, be sure to call us at (603) 889-0800.

Let?s dive into Elastic Security Labs? claims and what they could mean for Mac users. Macs Do Get Malware?Just Not As Much Research from Elastic Security Labs shows that 54% of malware impacts Windows devices, whereas 6.2% of malware are found on macOS devices. On the other hand, 48% of macOS devices are infected by the same app?an app called MacKeeper. MacKeeper is a utility that provides tools to help maintain a computer?s privacy and security. In order to do so, the app needs to have considerable security and access permissions. The most dangerous thing here is that MacKeeper is a legitimate software, and it has fallen prey to malware that utilizes it against the user. For the sake of security, we recommend you remove it from your device. Follow the steps below to do so. Deleting MacKeeper from macOS Navigate to the Finder app Select Applications Locate MacKeeper Make sure you have This Mac selected and click the plus sign Open the dropdown by selecting Name Select Other Tick the checkbox next to System Files Click Name and select System Files Change aren?t included to are included Right-click and select Move to Trash for all files in the folder Right-click the Trash icon and select Empty Trash With this threat out of the way, you can breathe a little easier when using your macOS device. Although, you?ll still want to make sure you have some sort of security protection on your Mac. If you need assistance with your technology, be sure to contact us at (603) 889-0800.

First of All, What Does Cyber Insurance Cover? Depending on your provider, there are different levels of coverage that your business has to consider. First-Party Coverage Helps Cover Your Direct Losses Suffering a data breach is an expensive circumstance. In addition to the costs required to recover any data still available, you also need to consider the cost associated with your business? downtime and the fees incurred by any investigative services you enlist. Third-Party Coverage Takes Care of Your Clients and Business Partners Chances are that a data breach won?t just impact data that pertains to your business, potentially also harming the vendors you work with and the businesses you serve. You will be responsible for trying to make it right, which will be a costly endeavor. It is also important to mention that cyber insurance covers more than just cyberattacks. While you should check any policy you plan to sign, it isn?t uncommon for a cyber insurance policy to cover damages from any form of business interruption?and to also cover hard copies of your data. Don?t be afraid to confirm what your policy covers before committing to an extended agreement. What You Need to Determine as You Seek Out Cyber Insurance During your search for a cyber insurance policy, it will be massively helpful to have a few facts and figures ready. This includes things like: What is it your business will likely need? As we said before, there are various costs that different insurable events will incur. Let?s say that your business accepts card payments, and therefore needs to abide by the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard?except somewhere along the way, someone fumbled the ball and left your business noncompliant and subject to fines. Cyber insurance may help cover these costs, and that?s just one example. It will be important for you to identify all potential needs like this and go about your search with them in mind. How much can you invest into your cyber insurance? This is the big question when it comes to any budgetary determination, of course, but it?s particularly important to consider when the potential costs are so high. Will you be able to maintain the premium costs so that you are protected from the cost of a disaster? What level of deductible is acceptable for your needs? Does the provider actually cover all situations you risk facing? Cybersecurity costs span a wide, wide range. Let?s say you were to suffer a breach?not only will you need to pay to have the root cause sniffed out and eliminated, but there are also the legal fees that will likely be involved, the costs associated with the notifications you legally need to make to your contacts, the PR expenses needed to preserve some aspect of your reputation, and the credit monitoring services for those affected that are all included under the umbrella of cybersecurity costs. In order to cover your bases, you need insurance that can be used to offset all of these costs. We can help you determine what level of cyber insurance is appropriate for your business, helping you find a provider that helps you cover these needs. Find out more by calling (603) 889-0800.