Three Support Options for Business Technology There are three strategies businesses can use to get the IT support and services they need. They are: Onsite Technicians These are employees of your business whose job it is to manage and maintain its IT infrastructure. An Outsourced Break/Fix Technician Computer repair companies who fix problems after they arise.  A Managed Service Provider A company that functions much like onsite technicians, but is an outsourced IT support company. Businesses can actually utilize all three of these strategies to ensure that their technology is working as it should, but it could get pricey. One thing that should be mentioned is that the less proactive a business is at managing its IT, the more expensive IT support is. Sure, you may pay a premium for an onsite technician, but the more downtime your business incurs by waiting until something is fixed, the worse it is for your business. Why Working with a Managed Service Provider Has the Most Value Consider the cost of each of these strategies: As mentioned above, your business may want to keep an IT administrator (or a whole team) onsite, but will have to pay them commensurate with their experience and expertise. That?s a big investment. With break/fix, your business is paying premium prices to a computer repair or break/fix IT service provider to fix problems that already exist and are sapping productivity and profitability away from your business by the minute.  With the MSP, you get the constant monitoring and proactive management you would get out of an in-house provider, but you also are paying as-a-service, which means that the technicians employed by the MSP are actually in charge of maintaining your IT infrastructure. Since this is the business model, and since there are several other benefits included in a managed service agreement, you get proactive IT management, comprehensive IT support, and the technology consulting you need to keep your business? technology running and working for you.  Take a look around our website and you?ll see just how much White Mountain IT Services can do to protect your business from failing technology. Give us a call today at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

For many smaller businesses the IT administrator?s position is not one held by a certified IT professional. It is held by whomever is most knowledgeable about computers; or, even worse, the person who most uses a particular machine. This can lead to a great deal of downtime and can cause a myriad of operational problems. What is a Help Desk? A help desk is a conduit provided to businesses that provides remote technology support to its individual users around the clock. If a user runs into a problem with technology, they can call the help desk any day of the week, any time of day, and get immediate support from a remote technician. How Does the Help Desk Help a Business? A help desk, either as a stand-alone service or as a part of a larger managed services platform, can provide the kind of comprehensive IT support every organization is looking for. It doesn?t just battle broken technology, either. It also works to significantly reduce downtime that comes from human error, whether it be from IT-related issues or situational incompetence. If your staff can?t do their jobs efficiently because they encounter technology-induced problems, having IT experts available around the clock to look into and fix most of the problems your staff could have is a huge benefit.  If you do have a dedicated IT administrator or outsource your IT management to a firm that doesn?t offer a help desk, having remote technicians at the ready can help any IT department that is stretched thin. Augmenting your IT staff by instituting a help desk can keep their attention on the projects that will help the organization move forward more successfully.  If your business finds itself having continuous issues with its technology, it?s probably costing you more than you know. If you would like to know more about getting the IT support your organization needs to reduce downtime and improve operational effectiveness, give us a call today at (603) 889-0800.

No, not likely, and it?s important that we acknowledge what we are doing when we give these applications this kind of carte blanche access to specific location data. How Precisely Do Your Apps Need to Know Your Location? That all depends, primarily on what the purpose is. For instance, your map application of choice will only be effective if it can tell you where you are and where you are going, and how far away that is. This means it needs to know your precise location. Can you say the same for your other applications, like your social media platforms, your shopping apps, or the apps that really have no need to know your location, but request access to it anyways? (The answer is a resounding no, by the way.)  This is what puts your privacy potentially at risk. How to Control How Precisely Your Apps Can Track Your Location Adjusting Location Permissions in Android: Find the application you wish to adjust your privacy settings in, and tap and hold it to pull up the app menu. Access App Info > Permissions > All Permissions. Find Location and check that Approximate location is enabled and Precise location is disabled. Adjusting Location Permissions in iOS: Access your Settings, and from there, access Privacy > Location Services. From there, check that the Precise Location option is switched off. Your Data is Valuable? Don?t Overshare It It?s important that you keep your data safe, even from the services you rely on every day. We strongly recommend you go through your applications and review the permissions you?ve provided to them, adjusting them as needed. White Mountain IT Services can similarly help you protect your business? data through our managed services and proactive monitoring. Find out more by giving us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Let?s start by reviewing some of the drawbacks that multi-factor authentication?while exceptionally helpful?does unfortunately suffer from. It?s Simple? Multi-Factor Authentication Can be Frustrating For all the benefits it offers to your security, there can be no denying that MFA can be a pain, especially if there are too many steps required for your team to effectively and efficiently access their accounts, creating some friction and (as we said) frustration. Plus, the most common form of MFA (a code generated by a smartphone application) is dependent on their having the phone ready and available. For instance, what happens when an employee is halfway to the office and they realize that their phone?and resultantly, their MFA key?is still at their house? Or maybe one of your remote workers discovers that their phone isn?t on its charging station where they left it, only to discover that their child has deposited it into the toilet?what happens then? This is just one of the potential challenges that MFA can pose. So while the security benefits are clear, there is no denying that this security feature can also create stress. Enter Adaptive Authentication While still only being used by a limited (but growing) number of organizations, adaptive authentication takes other factors into account to determine whether or not an MFA prompt is called for. Here?s how it works: let?s say that you go to work at the same time every weekday and perform more or less the same processes and tasks. Each person has their own typing patterns and ways to move the mouse, including you. These details can all be used to build a sort of profile of behaviors that your systems start to associate with each user. If something unusual happens?like a login attempt from an unfamiliar device at an odd time?an MFA prompt will be required. The idea is to strike a balance between security and convenience in such a way that neither your protections or your productivity is unduly impacted. Various industries have started adopting this new approach, and while it may be some time before the average small or medium-sized business can easily do so, it?s something interesting to keep your eye out for. In the meantime, White Mountain IT Services can assist you with the other aspects of your business? IT to help boost your security and productivity. Learn more by giving us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Let?s take a look at what MFA fatigue is and what you can do about it. MFA Fatigue is a Fancy Name for a Specific Type of Social Engineering If one of your applications asked you to log in from your mobile device, you wouldn?t think twice about it. You would probably just accept the notification, even if it?s spamming you, maybe due to a ?glitch in the system? or some other excuse. Admit it; you would probably confirm the login just to get the notifications to go away. MFA helps you keep an account secure even in the event your password is stolen, and by adding in additional methods of authentication, MFA is supposed to make it harder for hackers to break into your accounts. If a hacker does plug in your credentials, you?ll still receive the notifications on your smartphone or in your email asking you to confirm the login. So, if you receive what appears to be a legitimate authentication prompt, would you simply confirm it? Even knowing that it could be a hacker attempting to break into your account? What if that notification appeared over and over and over and over again? How to Identify MFA Fatigue Here are some of the dead giveaway signs of MFA fatigue attacks: If you receive approval requests without attempting to log into an application. If you receive multiple requests from a single application. If you receive authentication request notifications at odd hours. How to Address the Threat of MFA Fatigue Thankfully, there are ways to protect yourself from the threats posed by MFA fatigue-based attacks. If you have a strong password to begin with, you can keep your accounts secure from MFA fatigue by virtue of them being difficult to guess. Your team also needs to be aware that MFA fatigue attacks actually exist and can pose a problem for your organization. Simply put, if it?s unidentified, then the request should be denied. Let Us Help You with Network Security White Mountain IT Services can be your trusted network security source. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.