Idle Time in the Office The study conducted by the Harvard Business School showcased that employers lose $100 billion each year to time spent by employees remaining idle in the office. Even the researchers were shocked by the sheer magnitude of this number. Professor Teresa Amabile and Professor Andrew Brodsky expected significant loss from idle time, but were floored by the actual sum. For the purposes of the study, idle time is defined as time when an employee is ready and able to work, but something keeps them from being productive. Some of the primary causes of this idle time range from poor task allocation to equipment management availability, with everything in between. One method of research used by Amabile and Brodsky involved running a series of experiments that tested the effects of being idle. The subjects would copy over sentences (including typos) without having access to the Internet or their phones. The researchers found that participants would draw out their tasks to fit the time they had to complete the task rather than just complete it as soon as possible. On the other hand, if they had the chance to use the Internet or their devices, they would instead complete the task as soon as possible so they could get to something less menial or more enjoyable. Going slower didn?t result in fewer errors–only more time spent on the task. The researchers dubbed this tendency to slow down the ?deadtime effect,? noting that the ?deadline effect? is different in that it causes an increase in productivity as the deadline draws near. Fighting This Trend According to the research, Amabile and Brodsky found that some strategic ?leisure time? (time spent not working on something productive) was beneficial to keeping idle time to a minimum. If you can promote transparency and base evaluation of employees on outcomes rather than the road to those outcomes, managers can make the lives of employees much easier while still benefiting from all the work being done. Thanks to the increased productivity such a policy can bring about, management can obtain a better perspective on how long specific tasks can take to accomplish. Consequently, tasks can be allocated more efficiently, allowing employees to get more done throughout the workday without sacrificing quality. What are some methods you?ve used to improve productivity in your workplace? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog.

Extension Restrictions While Chrome?s biggest asset is quite possibly its extensive library of add-on extension programs, security concerns that have frequently appeared in these extensions have led Google to pump the brakes a little and impose some new requirements. For instance, with cryptocurrency becoming such a huge topic in recent months, many extensions dedicated to mining and even cryptojacking popped up. Google is now putting the kibosh on these supplemental programs. Furthermore, Google is going to hold developers in general to a higher standard, requiring their accounts to be protected by two-factor authentication and putting those extensions that require extensive permissions, or feature code that is hosted remotely closer under the microscope. Security Measures In addition to putting extra restrictions on its extensions, Chrome 70 has a few additional security tricks packed in, including measures meant to foil phishing attacks and protect the end user from their influence. Chrome 70 is also going to push education of its native password management tools. Perhaps most apparent to the end user, instead of confirming that a URL is secure to access, Chrome will warn users when one is not. This makes sense, as it reinforces that more websites should be secure than aren?t. Login Concerns Not all of these changes have received such a warm welcome. One change in particular alarmed many users when it appeared. Prior versions of Chrome have allowed users to access Chrome without logging into the browser. However, some users have noticed that Chrome now appears to log a user in, even if they are only using a single service. The big concern with users here is that Google could possibly now share a user?s data, like their browsing history, something that the previous status quo didn?t require. However, Google has announced that this isn?t an indication that Chrome has been logged in to, it is actually a kind of ?in-between? alert to inform a user of which of their accounts are currently logged in. Of course, as we spend more time with Chrome 70, more things we like will emerge, as well as things we don?t like. If you?ve used Chrome 70, what do you think about it? Share your thoughts in the comments!

Links are often called hyperlinks, and they are calls to specific information that can be discovered by clicking on them with a mouse or tapping them with your finger on a touchscreen. Even if it doesn?t look like it, buttons and other on-screen elements often have a link contained within them so they can be connected to certain information. Links can be used to provide a direct path to specific information, such as a location on the network or a certain web page. Links can be embedded into text, as well–chances are you?ve seen links in blog articles before, linking to external information on either the same site or elsewhere. Links can even be used to navigate to different parts of a singular web page through anchor text. An example we like to use is an image on a website. Depending on how it?s set up, you can ?navigate? to another page to view the image, or you can just view an enlarged image of it right there. Either way, a link is used to display the image. The same can be said for clicking on a link to a PDF. You either download it by clicking on it, or you open it from its source in the web browser. Of course, with the ease of sharing information and files that links provide, some choose to use it to disseminate threats across the Internet. You should always hover over a link to see its destination before actually clicking on it. You certainly don?t want to download a dangerous file. This is a tactic used by many malicious websites. They will make a site that looks legitimate and use links to spread threats or convince users to download malicious files. You can basically avoid most of these just by paying attention. For more information about the latest technology, subscribe to our blog.

Ransomware Unlike most other malware threats, ransomware isn?t designed to gain access to a system to steal data. It?s also not really a con, as anyone that is inundated with ransomware is in a real threat to lose their data (or their money). Ransomware is basically one of two types of malware. Some are computer viruses that target the CPU. These are called ?locker? ransomware. The other prevalent type, called ?crypto? ransomware, target and encrypt access to file systems. Whichever strand you get (and there are dozens of different strands) the basic premise is the same. After it is unpackaged to the user?s machine (or network) it encrypts access to data/processing/both and gives the system?s user instructions on how to proceed. The user then has a decision to make, pay the ransom or try to restore the data from their backup platform. Ransomware is such a departure from normal malware in that most strands of malware tries to camouflage itself inside a user’s system or network. Ransomware makes sure you know it?s there. The past few years has seen a huge uptick in the amount of ransomware that has been deployed, both in variant, and in frequency. These attacks have hit many municipalities, businesses, and other organizations, with one purpose, to extort money. With the litany of ransomware attacks conducted on very public forums, it has led people to start to ask, ?How are these attacks carried out?? The answer may surprise you. Delivery You may think that such a devastating computer virus would have to be delivered by those black hat hackers who sit in a basement someplace carrying out some well-concocted scheme to defraud your company. Or maybe it?s sabotage by a disgruntled former worker who didn?t get his/her 25% raise and inexplicably still had access to the network. The truth is that, while it could be either one of those examples, it is most likely the result of an honest act of negligence by someone who has access to your network. The majority of ransomware attacks are perpetrated by hackers that try to spoof legitimate company?s emails. Since these emails seem to be coming from a legitimate place, unwitting end-users click on links or download attachments from these emails, resulting in the malware attached being deployed on the system. The code then goes to work encrypting files or the hard drive. User View (and What They Don?t See) Once the ransomware has inundated the system and the file (or drive) is encrypted, the server will send a message to the victim. Typically, the user will get a notice that their files/computer has been encrypted and the only way to get the file back is to follow the instructions given in the notice. This includes payment arrangements and the dreaded countdown meter. If the user doesn?t meet the demands outlined in the notice, their data will be deleted forever, or their computer will be locked. This, of course is a terrible situation. What the user doesn?t see, however, is that the hacker, who has control over this data or infrastructure is probably not letting this end-user off the hook. The ransomware is bad enough, to exacerbate things for this foolish user, the hacker can now do what they please with that machine. Sometimes they will include directions that […]

VoIP Improves Inter-Department Communication If you?re relying on traditional landline telephones to get in touch with your employees, there are countless events that can make this more complicated and time-consuming. What if the employee isn?t at their desk and you have to leave a voicemail? Furthermore, what if the employee doesn?t see the voicemail until much later on in the day? While this might be fine if the issue isn?t immediate, it doesn?t help urgent situations where you need a response as soon as possible. VoIP doesn?t rely on your traditional handset, as it can be used on multiple different devices even while away from the desk, making it more likely that your calls won?t fall on deaf ears. VoIP Allows for Flexibility Many organizations these days have at least a couple of employees who work out of the office, even if it?s only from time-to-time. If you give these employees options for how to stay in contact with your office, you create more opportunity for collaboration when it matters most. Like we said, VoIP can be used on many different kinds of devices, including desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, bringing in a level of flexibility that you could only dream of with a traditional landline solution. VoIP Takes Advantage of Additional Features Can your landline phone service give you access to video conferencing to make remote workers or prospective clients feel like they?re right there in the room with you? What about instant messaging? How about all of the features that a traditional phone service has (conference calling, forwarding, etc.) in addition to all kinds of additional services that enhance the way your team collaborates? VoIP is so dynamic that you can add in any additional features you need as you see fit. It?s not like cable television where you have a bunch of channels you don?t need, but are still paying for–we only want you paying for services you find value with. Does your business want to get started with a quality VoIP solution that can save you money while improving the success of your employees? White Mountain IT Services can help. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.