When you?ve gone quite a while without a hacking incident, it?s easy to feel that the waters of the Internet are pristine and free of corruption; however, this isn?t necessarily the case. Deep down, in the murky depths of the Internet, there?s questionable activity at every turn, and some hackers might even have their sights set on your organization. You might think that your company is small-time compared to the large businesses that have been hacked in recent times, but in all actuality, your organization holds a wealth of information that hackers want to take advantage of. For example, you probably have the credit card numbers of your clients stored away somewhere on your infrastructure for when they make purchases. Your human resources department holds the Social Security numbers of all your employees in their files. Despite the fact that you?re a small business, hackers will see this as more than enough of a reason to hack you. Of course, they might just be taking a chance and hoping to find something good; but either way, you should be prepared to fend them off. Hackers will often try to attack your organization through cracks in your defenses. If you use older hardware or software that?s prone to experiencing breaches of security, you will be in for a rude awakening when a hacker breaches your network. You always want your organization?s systems to be in tip-top shape, be it through purchasing reliable new hardware or applying updates to your infrastructure. The best way to ensure that your organization is secure from hackers is to keep track of these weaknesses and resolve them as quickly as possible. The problem with this is that it?s difficult to keep track of multiple systems, especially if you?re not an IT expert by trade. This is why small and medium-sized organizations often outsource this responsibility to White Mountain IT Services to make sure that it?s performed properly. One way to make sure that you?ve got all of your bases covered is with a comprehensive network consultation. By indiscriminately analyzing every part of your technology infrastructure, you can find out a lot about your current security situation. Or, better yet, have an external party perform the consultation. By doing so, you get an unbiased assessment that?s sure to give you hints on how you can prepare your network for the worst. All you have to do to take advantage of this offering is call White Mountain IT Services. We offer a network consultation that?s designed to identify weak points in your security, as well as components that might be on their way toward a hardware failure. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

Before we show you how to do this, let?s backtrack a bit and go over some of the most common ways that files are shared between two PCs. Via external memory device, like a USB thumb drive. Via email. Via a cloud data storage service. All three of these options are easy to use, yet, they each have their drawbacks. For example, thumb drives are prone to getting lost or stolen, and both email and the cloud are dependant upon a working Internet connection controlled by a third party. One solution that has neither of these drawbacks is a home network. Setting up a network for two or more of your computers is easy to do and doesn?t require a server unit, switches, and all the other IT gear like what your network at the office needs. Instead, if your personal computers are both connected to the same Internet router, then you?ve got what it takes to share a file between the two machines by simply dragging and dropping. Use My Network PlacesMy Network Places is essentially a file on your PC shared between your two computers. You will be able to spot which PC is connected with the shared file because it will be designated by the PC?s assigned name. Once you spot the folder (use the Windows search bar to find it), drag and drop the file you want to share into it. You will then be able to access this shared content in My Network Places on your other computer. Create a Windows HomegroupAnother option for your home-file-sharing needs is to setup a Windows Homegroup. This is actually a better option than using My Network Places because it provides greater security. To set this up, type ?homegroup? in the Windows search box and hit Enter. If Windows can?t find any existing homegroups on your network to choose from, click Create a homegroup. Now select what kind of content and devices you want to share in this homegroup and click Next. Windows will now generate the homegroup and provide you with a password to access it. Be sure to record this password in a place that?s safe. To access your newly set up homegroup on your other computer, search for ?homegroup? in the Windows search bar to bring it up. You will next be notified that a new homegroup has been set up. Now, click Next > Enter the password > click Next again > and your two devices will be able to easily and securely share files. You can even add multiple devices and users to this homegroup if you need to. Sharing files over your home network is easy, but it gets more complicated when you?re dealing with multiple workstations on your office network. For assistance with your company?s networking needs, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.

The mission itself? It might require any number of things; it could require hijacking his own computer and accessing his secret account at the same time as his personal one, or maybe he needs to infiltrate an enemy base and retrieve something without them knowing (or his fianc??s surprise birthday present). He could even let other people use his accounts without them viewing history from his own account. But, as always, there is one objective that looms overhead, and drives the mission – to remain undetected. That?s what Operation Incognito is all about; Agent Chrome must dive deep into the underworld of Google City and remain undetected the entire time. But for Agent Chrome, it should be a piece of cake, for he has White Mountain IT Services on his side to make this feat easier done than said. With all of Agent Chrome?s unique gadgets and White Mountain IT Services?s technical prowess, his mission will be a success. Chrome starts Operation Incognito by navigating his way through the treacherous task bar, laden will several apps and traps to slow him down, like laser surveillance systems (pop-up blockers), enemy lackeys (Google Hangouts), and other distractions. His mission: to purchase an anniversary gift, without being detected by his significant other. Finally, he makes his way toward the control mechanism of Google City itself: the Customize and control Google Chrome apparatus. Upon further investigation, he notices that the apparatus gives him the option to go undercover with the aptly named New Incognito Window selection. Without reading the description (or rather, warning) that pops up on the screen, he feels he has little to fear, and jumps right into the action once more, searching for an anniversary gift. However, he fails to notice the cameras in the corner of the room following his every move. A huge explosion occurs and fifty men, armed to the teeth, ambush Agent Chrome. He wonders how it could be that he was discovered so easily, but the warning message comes back to bite him. Just because he?s incognito doesn?t mean that people can?t see him. He should have been more careful planning out his entry and his escape, because now he?s in a hairy mess that probably won?t be resolved without more chaos (and explosions). However, he can?t forget the reason why he came here in the first place. But he has no time! He has secret agents coming at him left and right, each clad in black turtlenecks that he feels would look oh-so-lovely on himself. He tries to fend them off, all while trying to communicate with White Mountain IT Services to tell us that he needs reinforcements. Before long, a pile of unconscious men surround Chrome, and they have called in the big guns – literally, very big guns, and he is forced to flee. The system of the building has initiated a code-red, and has recognized him as a threat. Explosions and sirens ring through the building, and the security system is trying to lock him in and shut down, preventing his escape. In order to prevent this he should have accessed the Google City files themselves in his own system and made Incognito his default form of browsing. He decides it?s not too late to give it a try. He cuts to the right (Right-click) in the main hub (Desktop) and […]

Update Your SoftwareAs a general rule, it?s recommended that all of your software is up-to-date. From a performance standpoint alone, running the latest software generally improves efficiency because it takes into account and fixes all known bugs that slow things down. Additionally, up-to-date software addresses known security risks, like the latest viruses and other online threats. Many of these computer viruses have the ability to slow down your system. Therefore, having a good security solution will protect your network?s data, as well as improve performance. We know that it can be difficult to stay on top of updating to the latest versions of software, which is why we offer to do this for you remotely with our managed IT service. Corrective MaintenanceSometimes, your computer network experiences a hardware issue that?s so severe it will cause your system to slow down to a crawl, or even become entirely disabled. For unfortunate times like this, corrective maintenance is in order. Having to perform major fixes to your system is never fun, and it can actually be quite expensive. However, when breakdowns happen, addressing and fixing the issue is the only way to get back on track. Corrective maintenances can be costly and burdensome, which is why we prefer to take a proactive approach to IT maintenance. With White Mountain IT Services?s managed IT service, we remotely take care of small issues with your system, before they turn into big problems. This approach minimizes IT repair bills, which will save you money in the long run. Server VirtualizationOften times, the network problems point right back to a troublesome server unit. If the server unit giving you grief is an older model, and you happen to have another server unit that?s newer and underutilized, then server virtualization is an answer to your server woes. Essentially, this method allows you to consolidate the applications on your old unit to your new one. This allows you to get rid of your older unit entirely, which will save you significant maintenance and utility costs. Although, be warned that server over-consolidation with excessive virtual machines on a physical server can lead to deteriorating performance and system instability. This is why it?s always a good idea to have IT professionals perform such an important procedure, like the pros at White Mountain IT Services. A Hardware RefreshIt may be the case that a hardware refresh is in order to get your network performing like it needs to. By replacing key computing components, you may be able to extend the life of your equipment, as well as give it a performance boost. Common components to seek out in a hardware refresh are CPUs, RAM, and hard disc drives. Going with a hardware refresh can be tricky because you have to determine if a troublesome device is better off getting refreshed or replaced altogether. On one hand, you don?t want to sink money into hardware that?s a lost cause, and on the other hand, you don?t want to buy a new and expensive piece of equipment like a server unit if you can get the results you?re looking for by swapping out an inexpensive component. For a major decision like this, it?s a good move to first check with your IT consultant. Of course, no technology is perfect and every piece of hardware will eventually fail or become […]

OneDrive IntegrationMicrosoft?s OneDrive cloud storage solution is a big part of Windows 10, which makes sense with the cloud being so prominent these days. With Microsoft?s upgrade to Windows 10 comes a more integrated OneDrive for your data-sharing needs. For example, OneDrive is no longer exclusive to Microsoft; it now lets you access files using your Android or iOS device. Plus, you can use OneDrive to remotely access any files on your Windows 10 PC–not just the files stored in OneDrive. Battery SaverIf you?re using Windows 10 on a mobile device or laptop, you don?t have to monitor your battery levels quite as closely as you used to. With the new Battery Saver feature, Windows 10 will automatically detect when your power levels get low and respond by powering down your non-essential background applications. This will perhaps give you a few extra minutes to make it to that wall charger. To enable Battery Saver, go to Start menu > Settings > System > Battery Saver. Background ScrollingOne common pitfall for Windows users is to be actively working with an app, and then hovering your cursor over another open app that?s on your screen, but not one that?s selected. You then go to scroll up or down, but to no avail because the app isn?t selected as the primary app. Granted, this isn?t a huge problem because all you have to do is click once on the background app to select it and then you can scroll like you need to. Yet, it?s still enough of an inconvenience for Microsoft to address it with Windows 10. To turn on Background Scrolling so that you won?t have to again be bothered by this, go to Settings > Devices > Mouse and Touchpad. Customize your Start Menu AppsWindows 10 nearly eliminated the Windows 8 Metro interface. What?s left of it can be found on the new Windows 10 Start Menu. Instead of having a full screen view, you can pin your most important apps to this for quick access. To do this, click the Start Menu and click on All Apps. Scroll to an application you?d like to add, right click it, and select Pin to Start. This will put a shortcut to the application on the right side of the Start Menu. You can edit the apps on the right side of the Start Menu by right clicking them. You can change their size or unpin them if you want to remove them. Windows 10 is poised to be a major player in both office and personal computing environments for years to come, which means that we?ll have plenty of time to discover even more of its unique and helpful features. When we do, we?ll be sure to post about it here on our blog. Be sure to subscribe to get the latest tech tips from White Mountain IT Services.