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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.
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.
