Nobody likes talking about impending disasters or expenditures, but the failure of your mission-critical technology is something that you need to keep in mind, especially when planning your IT budget and expenses for the next few years. What happens with your old technology is of equal importance. Plan for Your Technology?s Inevitable ReplacementWhen it comes to your mission-critical technology, having a plan can go a long way. You don?t want to be caught unaware, as a hardware failure can strike at any given moment. It helps to be prepared for untimely technology troubles by having an IT roadmap; a plan which details your technology expenditures over the next five or ten years. You should account for regular technology tune-ups and replacements, as well as emergency maintenance that?s impossible to predict. Wipe All Hard Drives and DevicesIt takes a lot more than a traditional factory reset to ensure that all of your business?s data has been removed from a hard drive. Before throwing your old PC out, make sure that this data concern has been addressed. Only a trained technology professional can provide the thorough scrubbing that a used hard drive needs before it?s thrown out. White Mountain IT Services can give you a hand with this delicate task. Properly Dispose of Your DevicesOnce you?re confident that your data has been removed from your hardware, it?s time to get rid of it. This is easier said than done, though. The world has a serious e-waste problem, especially in some developing countries. Hardware components contain precious metals that, in great quantities, can cause damage to the environment. Furthermore, developing countries that receive the bulk of this e-waste will use dangerous methods of isolating these materials, which further damage the atmosphere. It?s recommended that you contact White Mountain IT Services to properly and safely get rid of your e-waste for you. Of course, if you?re just routinely upgrading your workstations, and there?s nothing really wrong with your old hardware, you might consider donating your outdated technology to local charities or nonprofits. Doing so gives your reputation a boost within your community, and can open the door to potential clientele. You can even keep it hanging around your office for use in the event that a workstation becomes unusable. Does this process sound like too big of a pain? Whatever you do, don?t just throw out your old and ailing technology. Instead, contact White Mountain IT Services. We can work with your business to build an IT roadmap to plan out future technology acquisitions, as well as help you wipe your old technology and dispose of it in an environmentally-friendly manner.

The truth is that outsourcing is a valid option for businesses these days, and it?s especially valuable for small businesses that have a limited budget or workforce. Some small businesses have trouble attracting and retaining top talent, especially in remote areas with a limited amount of talent to choose from in the first place. Others simply don?t have time to deal with routine maintenance, which will inevitably lead to broken technology. One of the best ways to take advantage of outsourcing is for your organization?s technical needs, like IT management and maintenance. You started your business so that you could do what you love and turn a profit. If you?re focused on these goals rather than managing your technology 24/7, you?ll find that, all of a sudden, your dreams are within your grasp. Besides, wouldn?t it be nice to know that your technology is being handled by professional technicians? You don?t want just any computer novice performing maintenance on your business?s IT. Information technology is difficult to handle at times, and failing to manage it properly can lead to disastrous results. If your company?s server were to fall victim to an untimely hardware failure, you could be looking at massive repair costs or replacement fees. That?s not even mentioning the irreplaceable data that was lost when the server went down. Unless you have support that?s ready and able to help at any given moment, these disasters could very well break your business and impede your progress further. By outsourcing this need to White Mountain IT Services, you can essentially eliminate this uncertainty. By having us on standby and ready to assist you with your technology at all times, you can say “goodbye” to downtime and say ?hello? to productivity. Even if you have an in-house team of technology professionals working to keep your workstations and servers working as intended, they likely don?t have enough time and resources to implement new and exciting technology solutions. We?re sure that your technicians could use a break from working around the clock, and you?ll appreciate having an extra set of eyes on issues that can prevent them from turning into major problems. Our trusted technicians want to see you succeed, and they?ll work hard to make sure that it happens; that?s more than any ordinary break-fix IT company can offer. If your organization could use a hand with both technology management and implementing new solutions, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Mr. Alika is set to serve 80 months in prison followed by three years of supervision upon release, and must pay $1,963,251.75 in restitution for conspiracy to commit money laundering. On the other hand, his wife must serve 21 months of jail time, followed by three years of supervision and an IRS restitution of $245,790.08 for structuring cash withdrawals to avoid the required bank reporting. They both pled guilty to their respective crimes. Their actual crime: laundering $1 million in money stolen from the U.S. Treasury by filing fraudulent forms. In particular, they filed fraudulent income tax returns using data stolen from the Get Transcript service. Get Transcript was originally created so that taxpayers could review their past returns, but the Alikas used it to obtain data that they needed to steal from the IRS. The Alikas, and their co-conspirators, would then use the funds to purchase prepaid debit cards, and register them to the identities that they had stolen. They would then file their tax returns using the fake identities and receive the refunds on the prepaid cards. The cards were then used to purchase money orders and deposit the money into bank accounts, which was then withdrawn in small amounts to avoid suspicion and bank reporting. Keep in mind that this isn?t the first time Get Transcript has been utilized for fraudulent activity. In May 2015, 100,000 tax accounts were stolen and used to steal $50 million from the IRS. That?s a ton of cash that could have been saved if it weren?t for the lax authentication requirements. In response to this case, the United State Department of Justice put out a press release outlining some best practices to keep personal information and accounts as safe and secure as possible. File Your Taxes EarlyIf you?ve already filed your legitimate tax return, refund criminals like the Alikas can?t file using your identity. The longer a return goes without being filed, the more time you?re giving hackers to file a fraudulent return using your stolen identity. Use Strong Usernames and PasswordsThis tip can be applied to all online accounts–especially those that contain sensitive information, like your tax return. You should have passwords and usernames that are unique to your person; if someone else were to get ahold of your credentials, or if you share them, the chances of them getting stolen multiply. BONUS TIP: Randomized strings of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and (if permitted) symbols are the most secure option when selecting a password. For more information on how to keep your computer systems and your identity safe, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

As reported by ITProPortal, over half of the respondents to a survey by BetterCloud believe that instant messaging will overtake email in the office; an impressive feat, especially considering how commonplace email is in today?s professional environment. However, this also means that businesses need to improve their instant messaging practices if they want to reap the benefits it provides, and to use instant messaging in such a way that it?s not a major workplace distraction. If you want to improve your business?s instant messaging practices, try these tips. Accurately Represent Your Current Online StatusYou need to give your team a proper representation of whether you are currently available or not. If you don?t, they could be wasting valuable time trying to reach out to you when, in reality, you?re nowhere near your computer. Make sure that you change your status to indicate that you?re away from your computer, or logged off for the night; that way, your team can know that they would be better off contacting someone else who is available. If It?s Going to Be a Long Conversation, Try a Different Communication MediumLong IM conversations can waste time, especially if they aren?t particularly relevant to the task at hand. In this case, it?s better to simply pick up the phone and call the person you need to communicate with or arrange for a face-to-face conversation. This way, the details get ironed out and you don?t waste valuable time getting to the point. Plus, emotions are somewhat difficult to express through instant messaging, while voice chat and in-person meetings are easier to get a feel for. If You Have a Short, Specific Request, Try to Put It at the Beginning of the ConversationThere?s no point in drawing out a conversation when all you need to do is ask a question. Doing so isn?t just wasting your time; it?s wasting the recipient?s time too. Be courteous and respectful of your colleagues? time and ask questions as soon as you can. Take Full Advantage of Your IM System?s FeaturesMany instant messaging platforms also allow for several other functions. If you fully take advantage of these features, your team can be more productive with your IM solution. For example, if your system allows for voice chat, using it can be a great way to clear up confusion or explain a particularly difficult concept. If you need to rope in another person, try adding them to the conversation when they need to be there. The idea is to play around with what works and what the limits of your IM system are. This way, you can help your team better understand how to take advantage of the features. By following these best practices, your organization will see a more fruitful use of instant messaging features. What are some of your favorite ways to use instant messaging, and do you have any specific practices that you follow at your organization? We?d love to hear about them. Let us know in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to our blog for more best practices and tech tips.

NATO has declared that cyberspace qualifies as an area where conflict can occur, (it surprisingly took this long). While many cyber attacks tend to be limited to only data infrastructures, there are plenty of instances where attacks have moved from the cyber realm to the physical world. Some examples include a Ukrainian electrical grid hack from just last year, as well as a supposed Iranian hack of a United States dam control system. In other words, technology systems have the capabilities to cause quite a bit of damage, like blackouts or shutting down critical systems. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a valid observation concerning the decision to add cyberspace to the list of operational domains: ?Cyber defence is part of collective defence. Most crises and conflicts today have a cyber dimension. So treating cyber as an operational domain would enable us to better protect our missions and operations.? Technology has become such a commodity in today?s world that even warfare is assisted by it, through providing access to important data and applications. Networks that are used to deploy this data could be hacked, causing important information to be either lost or stolen; thus, putting real-world lives at risk. Plus, if a hacking attack rendered citizens without heat, electricity, and other necessities, it could redefine what the world thinks of as a war of attrition. NATO plans on securing networks and focusing on helping other countries secure their own. Additionally, NATO wants to help others identify where attacks come from, and what can be done about them. In 2014, NATO changed its policies to allow them to respond to any attacks against nations involved with the organization, so this shows that cyber warfare could potentially become a major factor in ongoing conflicts in the future. Granted, measures that could be put into place are easier to talk about than to actually implement. Cyber security is generally handled on a state level, and while the US and UK have invested heavily in cyber security, other countries tend to think of it as a low priority, or don?t foresee it affecting them in the near future. This decision by NATO should drive the importance of cybersecurity in the workplace, and reaffirm that your organization needs to take a cautious and proactive stance. Additionally, you?ll need to use best practices in order to minimize the risks of working online, as you?ll probably realize far too late that you?ve been infiltrated by hackers. It?s in your best interest to take a preventative stance on network security, regardless of how much risk you feel your business is at. To learn more about IT security, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.