What Are Virtual Workstations? When you virtualize software, the application itself is hosted on a central infrastructure set up and maintained either by your IT department or by some external, third-party provider. In much the same way, workstation (or desktop) virtualization is when your business? desktop infrastructure is hosted in a central location and deployed through the cloud. Basically, your team?s desktop infrastructure lives in this online environment. As long as your employees have Internet access, they can access their desktops on any approved, secured, and connected endpoint. This also goes for any applications located on these virtual desktops, too. Virtual machines can be run locally on your workstation, allowing you to host multiple operating systems or desktops on a single device, but we will mostly be discussing the benefits of desktop-as-a-service offerings for businesses. What Benefits Do They Offer? One advantage you can expect from virtual desktops is an increased level of security. Since the data for these virtual desktops is stored in one location rather than on the endpoint itself, the threat surface is dramatically reduced, meaning that there are far fewer opportunities for the data to be stolen or put at risk. Due to this enhanced level of security, virtual desktops are also perfect environments for application testing or for running isolated versions of operating systems. If you want to see the impact that an application, patch, or update has on your computing infrastructure, a virtual environment is a low-stakes place to put it to the test. Similarly, you can run legacy applications that might not be the most up-to-date tools out there in secure, isolated environments through the use of desktop virtualization. Finally, virtual desktop infrastructures can be extremely cost-effective for businesses looking to eliminate unnecessary costs. You might suspect that all of this processing requires a ton of computing power, but this is mostly done by the provider in their data centers, so you are saving on operational costs by implementing virtual desktop infrastructures. Get Started with Virtual Workstations Today! White Mountain IT Services can help your business get started with virtual workstations today. To learn more about how this technology can save your business time, resources, and headaches, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Determine How Much You Plan to Rely on the Cloud The beauty of cloud services is that it isn?t an all-or-nothing prospect?today?s businesses have the flexibility to utilize the cloud for as much (or as little) as best suits their needs. Therefore, this is a critical step to consider as you proceed with your cloud migration. Determining your intended use of the cloud and the scale of your needed migration will help shape how you approach it. Figure Out the KPIs You?re Most Concerned With When dealing with a cloud migration, there are numerous KPIs?key performance indicators?to keep in mind. These KPIs will help you determine how well your migration is going, showing you potential issues before they have undue impact on your process. The KPIs you should keep track of include the following: User Experience – This involves things like how long pages take to load and how long any lags are. Application Performance – How often are your cloud applications erroring out, or aren?t available for your team to use? Infrastructure – What percentage of your business? potential CPU and memory usage is being expended, and how well is your network performing? Business Engagement – How effectively are you converting prospects to clients, and how engaged are your prospects and clients with your business? Keep in mind, this is a very short sample list of the KPIs you should track. Determine Your Baselines for These KPIs In order for you to have data to compare your post-migration performance to, you should take the KPIs you?ve selected and collect current data that applies to them. While this can be done relatively quickly, it is better to commit some time to this and collect data over a longer timeframe to preserve its accuracy?the more data you have, the less impact any odd outliers will have on it. Once you have this data, you?ll be able to take the same measurements after your migration to determine the return you?re getting. We Can Assist You with Your Cloud Migration Reach out to us for help in managing the minutiae that this process demands and requires. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to find out how we can help.
First Off, What?s a DDoS Attack? DDoS stands for Distributed Denial of Service, and it specializes in overloading your network with more traffic than it can handle. Your business? network can only handle so much traffic at a time, and when it receives too much, it shuts down entirely. It typically doesn?t need to process so many requests at a time, unless it?s under extenuating circumstances, like with a DDoS attack. Your server has its limits, and the DDoS attack exploits those limits. You have a finite amount of bandwidth with which to go about your business?bandwidth that is already being used by your communications infrastructure and Internet. DDoS attacks use the resources of countless infected computers, typically referred to as a ?botnet,? to ping your network with so much traffic that it is forced to collapse under duress. In essence, the DDoS attacks literally ?deny you service? by preventing you from accessing the tools and resources you need to go about your daily operations. This is What Cloudflare Stopped Cloudflare specializes in content delivery, along with SSL certificates and DDoS mitigation, so it stands to reason that they would have contingencies in place to put a halt to this attack. This particular attack reached a point where 26 million requests were being made each second, using only 5,607 infected Internet of Things devices across 121 countries. There Are a Few Things You Should Do to Protect Your Business We always, always recommend that you provide your team with a baseline understanding of network security issues, including password security, phishing awareness, and other best practices to prevent your devices from becoming a part of another botnet. You can also add and maintain a firewall to limit traffic into and out of your network. Of course, it?s not always this simple. You might also need to ensure that your firewall doesn?t fail. Be sure to keep your systems updated and to keep a comprehensive DDoS response system in place with your business continuity plan. It also helps to use the cloud for more parts of your business operations. The cloud is generally better equipped to handle these types of attacks, as it has greater bandwidth to minimize the impact of DDoS attacks. We Can Help You Put All This in Place If this all sounds overwhelming, don?t worry?we?ve got your back. To learn more about how we can protect your business, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
What is a Network Bottleneck? First, let?s provide a visual representation of a network bottleneck. Imagine that you have a bottle of water filled to the brim. You have the neck of the bottle at its top, limiting the amount of water that can pass through at any given moment. This is done so as to keep you from drenching yourself with your drink. In a similar way, a network bottleneck occurs when something is obstructing or constricting the network?s ability to transfer data efficiently. In other words, the network doesn?t have the capabilities to transfer data the way it should be, creating operational problems for your business. Network bottlenecks emerge when there are complications with the way a network is designed or configured, but they can also occur when a hardware failure occurs. To illustrate things in a different way, consider a highway with three lanes. Let?s say one of them is under construction and closed. The traffic that would normally flow through unimpeded is now slowed down considerably due to the shutdown. This is what can happen during a network bottleneck; the same amount of data cannot pass through effectively when there aren?t enough resources to handle it. What Can You Do About It? Without knowing what the cause of your network bottleneck is, you cannot address the root issues at hand. You can attempt to self-diagnose the problem by noticing where and when devices are having trouble accessing or sending data across your network. Generally speaking, replacing the necessary components or devices with more compatible ones, or adjusting the required settings, is often enough to resolve a network bottleneck. In some cases, network slowdown can have other causes, so we always recommend working with a professional to determine what the true cause of this slowdown is and if a bottleneck is occurring. It helps to proactively monitor your network traffic so you know what is regular and what is abnormal for your network. Contact Us Today If you suspect that your organization is suffering from a network bottleneck, we urge you to contact White Mountain IT Services for a comprehensive network audit. We can help to determine the cause of the bottleneck and the appropriate next steps to ensure that it is addressed in the correct manner. Whether you need to update your hardware or adjust some configurations on your switches, we will take care of the heavy lifting for you. This will help you focus on getting back to work and using your now-efficient network to run your business more optimally. To learn more about what we can do for your business, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.
Breach Detection Methods The first step is to build your system of breach detection methods. Because hackers and their malware aim to be invisible until they strike, it’ important to have a wide range of detection measures to identify when a breach – or the infection before the breach – occurs. Network Monitoring Network monitoring tracks all behavior across multiple systems ranging from CPU core temperature to network activity. Network monitoring allows you to track when hidden processes are using resources and unauthorized network access. Network monitoring is the channel through which all access data flows, and with expert interpretation, can reveal a breach as it happens. Access and Control Management Access and control management is the new method by which everyone with access is given minimum access. Each employee and customer can only open the files they specifically need. By tightly controlling access, you can then go on full-alert when unauthorized access occurs. Virus Scanning Naturally, your virus scanning software plays a role. Should a program try to download, install, or run with the clear traits of a computer virus, your traditional protective software should alert to the malware presence. Human Suspicion Sometimes, a staff member will bring a suspected hack to light. They may report an unusual computer activity or something unexpected in the data logs. Because humans work with the system every day, they can notice signs of an otherwise well-hidden hack . Make sure to have an available and encouraged channel for staff to send in cybersecurity suspicion reports for everything from phishing emails to unusual keystroke responses. Who Should Be Alerted Who should be told when one of your detection systems alerts on a possible data breach? CIO or CTO Your C-suite chief of information and/or technology in the company is likely high on the list of people who should be notified. They will rally the troops and decide the right course of action for a breach response. Network Administrator Your lead administrator who handles the network and security of your business systems is often the first person flagged by automated breach detection methods. They are also in the best position to take immediate action for damage control and recovery. Cybersecurity Specialist If your team has a cybersecurity specialist, they may be first on the list of people alerted when breach is detected or suspected. IT & Security Agency Many companies have an IT agency that supplies their network and cybersecurity support. If a breach is detected, they are likely already responding or will need to be the first called to take defensive action on behalf of the company. Damage Minimization Measures Make plans to swiftly minimize the damage of a data breach as soon as possible. The goal is to isolate the malware or hacker’s access to your system before eradicating the invasion, closing the breach, and recovering to an uncompromised state. This starts by protecting the rest of your network, endpoints, servers, and cloud assets from exposure. Isolate Infected Systems or Files Identify which files, data systems, or servers are infected and isolate them. With physical systems (and before the cloud) this might mean pulling the network cable so no other systems are infected. Isolation is more complex in modern business information systems, which will require a unique approach based […]
