Disasters are an unfortunate part of doing business in a technology-heavy workplace environment. You need to expect the worst, but it?s often difficult to predict what types of disasters your organization will have to endure. There are a few universal disasters that you?ll encounter, regardless of where in the world your business operates. Here are four of the most common ways that your business could lose data, and how disaster recovery thwarts them at every turn. Natural DisastersAll you have to do is watch the local weather channel to get a glimpse of just how unpredictable and apocalyptic natural disasters can be. One minute the sun could be shining, and the next your business could be assaulted by roaring torrents and flash flood warnings. Or, the earth would quake under your feet and you?d never know until it?s too late to do something about it. An even more common occurrence would be an electrical storm or a power outage, which could threaten to bring down your technology or fry its circuitry. The point is that it?s next to impossible to predict what effect a natural disaster could have on your business, but the fact remains that it?s most certainly nothing good. Hardware FailuresAnother common problem for businesses that rely on technology is the hardware failure. If you have resource-intensive servers that are responsible for the brunt of your network operations, you might already be intimately familiar with the devastating effects of a hardware failure. No technology can last forever, so when an untimely hardware failure claims the lives of your server units or workstations, you?ll need to be prepared. User ErrorIn much the same way as hardware failure, user error needs to be expected and planned for. You can?t realistically expect your users to never make mistakes. It?s part of human nature. People might accidentally misplace files or hand over credentials to threatening entities. Regardless of how they do so, user error is one of the primary reasons for data losses and data breaches, so it?s crucial that you prepare for this by educating your team on best practices, and implementing data backup. Hacking AttacksYou might not expect to become the victim of a hacking attack, but no matter how large your business is, you need to consider yourself a target. As long as you deal with sensitive credentials like credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and other financial or personally identifiable information, you have something of value to hackers. When a hacker attacks, they can either steal or delete your data, so it?s best to have a backup stored in the event of something like this. Regardless of how your data is lost, you?ll need a way to recover it. The best way for a SMB is to reach out to White Mountain IT Services. We can equip your business with the dynamic BDR solution you need to keep your organization afloat, even when you think that your business will sink. Our BDR solution features only the best and brightest features for your data infrastructure, including fast and efficient recovery times, multiple backups taken per day, and off-site, cloud-based storage. With BDR, you?ll know that your data is safely stored, just in case you need it. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Depending on who you?re addressing and the context of the email, there are a few different ways you can approach your email heading. One surefire way is to make the subject line relatable and personable. According to Unbounce, a message with the subject line, ?Steve, where are you?? achieved a 43 percent open rate, compared to a Mailchimp report citing the industry average to be 24 percent. This is due to both the personalization of the subject line, as well as the perception that, by not reading the email, the recipient will miss out in some way. Another great way to reach your email recipient is to include a detail about their recent activities with you. You can use the subject line to catch their attention. For example, you can ask them how their experience was, and customize it to make sure that the message doesn?t get identified as spam. You can do this if someone has recently purchased a new product or service from your company. Doing so establishes a personal connection, and can inspire the recipient to take further action. Offering a special benefit, like a limited time offer or important information, can also inspire a reader to open the email. Perhaps you could try educating them on how best to perform a certain task or even a surprising fact. Whatever you decide to include, make sure that it?s either useful or interesting. On the other hand, if your email is conveying bad news to the reader, it?s best to be honest at all times, as well as authoritative. If the service that you provide is disrupted, it?s best to let them know about the issue, as well as any plans that you have to resolve it. Basically, the thing to remember is that your message, including the subject line, should be tailored to meet the expectations of the recipient. No two people are the same, and you will have varying purposes in reaching out to them. Your mission should be to make all of your recipients feel like they?re special; otherwise, they?ll suspect that you?re emailing everyone in your contacts, and assume that the message isn?t genuine. This can cause them to put your message in the back of their mind (or in the spam folder). What are some of your favorite ways to get your emails read? Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog for more great technology tips and tricks.

It was expressed that, in comparison to its previous incarnations, Windows 10 is much more difficult to break into. That hasn?t stopped some hackers from trying, though. Among the Black Hat hackers at the convention were many who had tried to pinpoint potential outlets for malicious threats, and while they still managed to come up with a couple of solutions, it became clear that Windows 10 is much more challenging for hackers to infiltrate. Below are a few of the proposed attack models, and how Windows 10 challenges them. Windows 10 Uses Built-In Anti-Malware ToolsWindows 10 uses what?s called the antimalware scan interface (AMSI), which is capable of identifying and capturing malicious scripts in memory. The idea is that applications can access this information, and any antivirus or antimalware program can process it. For example, Windows Defender and AVG use AMSI. The reason that this is such a huge problem for hackers is that many prefer to use script-based attacks. The kicker here is that while AMSI is a valuable tool to detect and prevent attacks, it requires secondary security protocol in order to be most effective. While it?s great for detecting scripts executed in PowerShell, since PowerShell records logs, it still requires someone to regularly monitor the logs in order for it to be most effective. Active DirectoryActive Directory is a crucial part of how Windows administration functions, and it?s useful for both managing workloads in the cloud, and controlling identity and authentication management on in-house networks. Microsoft Azure uses Active Directory, which can provide exceptional security for an Azure-based cloud computing platform. The problem that admins run into in most circumstances is that any user account can access Active Directory unless the administrator removes those permissions. Therefore, it falls to your IT administrators to ensure that the credentials for your Active Directory authentication are secured and to control user permissions to mitigate potential access to AD. VirtualizationVirtualization-based security is a series of security features that are built into the hypervisor of Windows 10. In essence, Hyper-V can create a virtual machine that isn?t connected to the root partition. This virtual machine can then execute security commands as needed. The idea here is that Hyper-V creates a virtual machine that can?t be compromised, even if the root partition has been taken over. It?s a way of minimizing the extent of data breaches, should they happen in the first place. Of course, if the root contains credentials that allow hackers to access the virtual machine, it?s all over. Therefore, administrators need to take measures to ensure that hackers cannot access the VBS machine. Of course, no matter how secure an OS is, hackers will always find a way to get in. One way or another, criminals who are determined to bypass defenses will create a way to do so. Microsoft patches known vulnerabilities as soon as they?re discovered to be active, so it comes down to outplaying the opponent. Hackers will inevitably find ways to crack Windows 10?s innate security, so it?s your responsibility to complement your OS?s security with your own solutions. If you need assistance securing your Windows 10 devices, or any other workstations, servers, or network components, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.

These numbers come from a study performed by the Poneman Institute and IBM Data, where 283 companies from all over the world were examined. The results may be quite shocking, especially for a small business that may never have experienced a data breach. Here are some of the highlights of the study: The United States leads in terms of sheer overall cost of breaches by record value. The value per record is $223 on average. In total, the average cost of a data breach in the United States was roughly $7.01 million. Particular industries, like healthcare, education, and finance, have a higher value per record at $355, $246, and $221 respectively. 48 percent of all data breaches were the result of malicious intent, like hacking attacks and network infiltrations. Encryption and other security protocol decrease the costs of data breaches by up to $16/record. How quickly a company responded to the security breach had a positive impact on the overall cost of the breach. There?s a 26 percent chance that an enterprise will be hit by one or more data breaches of over 10,000 records within the next two years. Think about it; a data breach has far more repercussions than just the strain on your budget. It can lead to a damaged reputation, as well as lost clients and revenue. Can you afford to lose clients and revenue, and more importantly, can you recover data that?s lost or stolen due to your negligence? It?s estimated that businesses that fail to recover their data following a breach, will go out of business within one year following the incident. Another point of interest is the cost associated with data breaches and loss associated with these three leading factors: Data theft due to malicious intent$236 per record. This is data that?s considered lost or stolen due to a hacking attack, like ransomware or a network virus. Really, the sky?s the limit for data theft in this category; there are so many threats out there that it?s basically impossible to specifically prepare for each one. Data loss due to hardware failure$213 per record. This is data that?s lost due to system malfunctions or hardware failure, like a server or workstation crashing unexpectedly. Unlike hacking attacks, this is something that you can prepare for, by taking proper care of your technology and keeping an eye out for warning signs. Data loss due to human error$197 per record. This is data that?s lost when your users do something on accident, like move a file or expose credentials to hackers, that puts your data in harm?s way. This is a bit more difficult to protect from, as you?re relying on your end users knowing what they?re doing. Be sure to educate them on best practices, and ensure that they only have access to data that they absolutely need for their position. Is your business prepared to handle the many situations that could lead to expensive and costly data breaches? If you?re not sure, reach out to White Mountain IT Services. We offer several solutions that are designed to protect your business from all manners of threats, including proactive security solutions (firewall, antivirus, spam-blocking, content-filtering), backup and disaster recovery, and user access control. To get started, all you need to do is call (603) 889-0800.

If your business is using technology that focuses on mobility, you?ll recognize the many benefits that it can provide. However, mobile technology doesn?t come without its fair share of problems. Here?s how mobile devices can help your business, as well as some of the problems frequently associated with them in the workplace. The Benefits of Going MobileMobile technology is capable of helping your business push beyond the barriers associated with the traditional office environment. Here are just a few reasons why your business should focus on improving technological mobility: More Productivity If your team has mobile devices, they can be productive from anywhere, anytime. Your employees can check their email, organize schedules, and communicate while on the road or work remotely. Basically, mobile technology allows employees to streamline the way that they do work and accommodate it in their life outside the office. Workplace VersatilityEmployees like having options for where and how to work. If your team is equipped with mobile technology, and your office accommodates many different places for them to work, your employees will be far more productive and happy with their working situation. This is particularly helpful when someone needs peace and quiet, and there?s an absurd amount of chatter going on in the office. Increased EfficiencyThe act of making your technology infrastructure more mobile comes with the added efficiency of being able to access data and applications from the cloud. This helps your business stay productive by staying connected to crucial parts of your business. As long as you have an Internet connection, you can access critical resources from anywhere. The Challenges of Mobile TechnologyAs is the case with any technology that accesses your network, you need to ensure that it?s not putting your business?s data at risk. This is especially true for mobile devices that leave the office. How can you be certain that employee-owned smartphones, tablets, and laptops aren?t unintentionally sharing your information with the outside world? If these devices take data off the premises, and they were to get hacked or share information with other networks, you could be dealing with a data breach. Therefore, some kind of oversight is necessary in order to continue being productive without compromising on security. Does your organization want to take advantage of mobile technology to enhance productivity? If so, you need to implement a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy that?s designed to protect your business?s critical assets. One of the best and most practical ways to leverage BYOD is to use a mobile device management solution, which is designed to restrict the flow of data on these devices and limit its exposure to threats. If you?re ready to delve into the world of mobile device management, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.