The Stakes Are High A lost smartphone can have serious consequences in today?s modern environment. While the most immediate issue might seem like the price of the device, you also need to consider what the smartphone provides for users: access to accounts, access to data, and access to anything else stored on the device, including the ability to unlock any accounts (or your business? network) that might have two-factor authentication set up using that particular device. All of this combines to create a situation that is far from ideal, and one that Android developers have planned for with built-in device tracking features. Auto-Location While the features are there, you still need to take some proactive measures to enable them. In your Settings, you need to navigate to Find My Device. Next, you?ll need to turn this setting on. Your Location should be set to High Accuracy. Once this is done, enable Google to Use Location History. This might seem like a privacy issue, but it will make your phone much easier to find if you ever lose it. Once you?ve done this, you can access the same Google account that is used by your device from your web browser. Google will then give you an idea of where your device was last located. It can even detect which Wi-Fi network it?s connected to. If you need to, you can use the Find My Device application to accomplish the same thing for a secondary device. Find My Device also gives you the ability to remotely lock a device and display a message to anyone who might find it. This gives them the opportunity to locate you and return the device. Once you?re in the vicinity of your device, you can also tell the device to ring. It?s notable that this command will override your volume settings so that you?ll be guaranteed to hear the device when it rings (assuming you?re close enough to hear it). Also, of note is that the device can be remotely wiped through the Find My Device feature. Granted, this option is a bit on the extreme side, so try to avoid doing this unless you truly think the device has been stolen. In order for these features to work like you want them to, you need to enable them. Otherwise, you can forget about using them to find your device if you ever lose it or misplace it. Act Fast It?s incredibly important to keep these features in mind, but it?s even more important to understand their limitations. For one, the features only work when the device is on. While you can check its last known location, there?s no guarantee it will be where you left it. If you think your device was stolen, be sure to let your local authorities know and clue them in on what you know about it. For help with managing your mobile devices, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.

There?s so many threats,and with attackers so busy how can you stop them all without getting dizzy? To answer this question,we look to one Who, who smartly saved Christmas from disaster, part two! We all know this Who, Cindy Lou, she?s called, who opened her email but at that point, she stalled. She there found a message from her old friend, the Grinch but something about it was off by an inch. ?Hello you my grand chum,? this strange email read. This didn?t sound like what The Grinch would have said! ?I need a big favor, I feel like a fool, and right now I?m stuck in the Jungle of Nool.? The email went on, ?Just so you?re aware, I decided to travel and let down my hair. ?But while I was here, my wallet was taken! my tickets were in there, I?m broke and I?m shaken! ?So please, send me funds and send them quite fast! If I don?t get home soon I don?t know if I?ll last! ?I have included a link to a transactional site, please send it in Seusscoin, I need it tonight! ?So please, my dear Cyndi, help me come home! I want to be safe, nevermore will I roam!? Cindy sat back, a frown on her face. She said, ?I don?t think he?s really stuck in that place.? Young Cindy was wise, and, shaking her head, said, ?This might be a scam! Let me check what I read. ?Aha! Yes, here! This part doesn?t make sense!? Cindy was heard to exclaim. ?How could the Grinch misspell my first name?? She peered ever closer, and cried out, ?Success! I know the Grinch well, that?s not his address!? So Cindy was smart, and by dialing correctly, she called up the Grinch who answered directly: ?Hello, my dear, what do you need?? Said the reformed Grinch so nicely, and Cindy explained what had happened, concisely. Young Cindy knew that when one gets a strange note, one should try to make sure that note?s a real quote. Because email can be a tool for a crook trying to make you feel like a schnook. So be careful of email now, and all seasons and when you get a message always question the reason For advice to help keep Your business secure, Call White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800, We?ll help you for sure!

Why Gift Cards, And Why Businesses Let?s look at the situation for a moment. You spend most of your time around your team. You?ve more than likely developed some kind of familiarity with them, or at the very least have been roped into an office gift exchange. If you aren?t familiar with all of your coworkers or employees, you may have a rough time selecting the right gift for them. In light of this, it starts to make sense to gift them something that they can pick out for themselves, as gift cards enable you to do. This probably explains why gift cards are such a popular option for so many. Unfortunately, this also practically hands scammers the opportunity to make a lot of money. The Scam in Action Using spoofed emails and social engineering tactics to their advantage, a hacker can scam a company?s users by posing as an authority figure, like the president or the CEO. Under this guise, the scammer can instruct the user to purchase gift cards for the staff and to pass along the redemption codes to the scammer. Since these instructions ?come from above,? the employee complies, not realizing that they are sending company funds to a cybercriminal in an effectively untraceable form of currency. How to Avoid This Scam Awareness is key to protecting your business? interests, resources, and funds–and this awareness needs to be on all levels of your organization. Each and every member needs to be educated on how to spot these scams, and how to confirm them. This confirmation is another crucial component to your business security. If your employees don?t develop the habit of confirming requests like this through a secondary line of communication, the company is left vulnerable to this scam and similar ones. Sure, fielding confirmation requests from your employees may get old, and fast, but it will almost certainly be preferable when compared to being scammed. When all is said and done, scammers are going to keep trying to take advantage of you, your employees, and your business at large. White Mountain IT Services can help to protect you. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 today.

A survey from ObserveIT asked several questions about the real threats that face businesses when it comes to remote workers and mobile devices, and the results they found were quite disturbing. Just about anyone–even the best employee–could pose a potential risk to your business if they are unaware of the dangers their mobile device usage presents. We?ll dig into the details and share some of the important takeaways of the survey, as well as what you can do to make sure your organization doesn?t fall victim to these threats. Using Unsecured Networks is Dangerous While it might be convenient to use any unlocked Wi-Fi network while out of the office, it?s not the most secure way of accessing the Internet. This is because anyone on the network with the right tools can see what you are doing, as well as steal or intercept data while it?s in transit to and from it. 77 percent of employees use these networks to access the Internet on their devices. Furthermore, the number of employees using these networks to access their email and other company data while unsecured is somewhat surprising. About 63 percent of employees do this, and it puts your business? sensitive information at risk. Employees Use Unapproved Devices to Access Data Sometimes devices used by your employees aren?t as secure as they can be. For example, someone might bring a tablet that doesn?t adhere to a Bring Your Own Device policy to the workplace. Any unsecured devices that aren?t company-approved could expose your network and data to danger. It?s estimated that just over half–54 percent–of employees use these devices to access company data, whether it?s email or other important files. A Virtual Private Network Helps Tremendously Of course, the best way to make sure your business doesn?t expose data while you?re using devices outside the safety of the office is to use a virtual private network, or VPN. A VPN works by masking the data while it?s traveling to and from your device, encrypting it so that it remains as safe as possible from any and all threats. While the data is encrypted, if it is stolen or spied on, the interloper will only be able to see a jumbled mess of data rather than anything concrete, protecting the integrity of it. While businesses are starting to see the sense in using a VPN, only about 55 percent of users are currently doing so. This is a number that can be improved on if you can emphasize the importance of cybersecurity awareness with your staff. White Mountain IT Services can help your organization stay as secure as possible while out of the office, no matter where your business takes you. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Easy Camera Let?s face it – the integrated camera is one of the most-often used features on many phones. There are dozens of articles online explaining how to make the most of using a mobile device?s camera. However, the advice that these articles offer will only be effective if you can get the camera ready in time. Instead of navigating through menus or even unlocking the phone, there are much easier methods to accessing the camera app. These vary based on the manufacturer of the phone you happen to use, but are generally based on double-pressing a button. On LG?s devices, that button is the volume-down button, while most others use the power button. Phones manufactured by Motorola switch things up a bit? their camera can be activated through a double-twist gesture. Easy Access to the Google Assistant The Google Assistant, widely regarded as the best option as far as the numerous ?assistant? apps go, is fairly easy to access, even without saying ?Okay, Google.? Most of the newer Android phones come equipped with a Google Assistant shortcut in the Home key. All you have to do is long-press it, and the Google Assistant will pop up. Easy Menus While this trick doesn?t work in all apps, it does in some. Many apps have a menu that can be accessed by pushing the three dots, before again pushing the selection. However, some apps combine both gestures into one fluid motion, much like a drop-down menu does on a computer. By long-pressing the three-dot Menu button and dragging down, you can make your selection without the need to poke twice. Easy Hang-up Since their earliest incarnation, telephones have always been for making calls (and, less directly, ending them). While there is an on-screen button for ending calls, there is another, potentially more convenient way to hang up. Assuming that you?re holding your device to your ear, as one traditionally does with phones, you probably have simple access to the Power button. In your Settings, you can access your Accessibility settings and turn on the Power button ends call capability. As you might have gathered, this turns the Power button into a secondary end call button, making it easier to hang up and turn your attention to your next steps. There are far more features hidden away in your smartphone. Which ones are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!