Recent Blog Posts
First off, if you happen to find yourself a victim of a hack attack such as this, whatever you do, DON?T CALL THE PROVIDED PHONE NUMBER! The blog Delete Malware explains what will happen if you do: ?If you call [the number] they won’t actually remove adware from your computer. They will hijack your computer and steal all of your bank information and passwords.? Yikes. At this point, the origins of the malware can?t be pinned down, which makes it rather confounding because it?s been known to activate and display the blue screen of death while browsing popular websites like YouTube and Facebook. However, what the user sees isn?t the real Microsoft blue screen of death–which takes up the entire computer screen. Instead, this particular malware only affects the Internet browser, as indicated by the exposed browser tabs and URL form as seen in this screenshot. Thankfully, the threat isn?t as severe as the real blue screen of death. In most cases, you can move on from this annoyance via the Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Delete), or by rebooting your machine. Still, it?s inconvenient for anyone when this happens in mid project, and it can result in losing unsaved work or even downtime. Plus, it?s not like rebooting your machine will rid the virus from the system. Without proper removal, it will lie dormant and pop up again at another random time. Actually, the fake blue screen isn?t the biggest threat here. It?s all an elaborate ruse to play on one?s fears and get them to call the provided phone number. This is all to give the hackers an opening to take control of the PC, giving them the chance to do far worse damage than wasting the few minutes it takes to reboot. It?s a classic social engineering scam where users are tricked into forking over their sensitive information after overreacting to a perceived threat. You?ve likely seen social engineering before with spam emails designed to convince you that you?re guilty of something like missing a court date or getting a speeding ticket. Although, upon further review, its spam messages are usually fairly easy to determine, which makes them easy enough to ignore. What makes this particular scam different is that you can?t ignore it like spam messages, especially when it locks up your browser. Upon encountering malware such as this, you should immediately call the real IT professionals at (603) 889-0800. We?ve got the tools it takes to analyze your system to determine the nature of the threat and properly remove it. In a situation like this, one thing that the hackers are hoping for is that the victim won?t know enough about who oversees their company?s IT that they?ll believe the number to be real. This is a dang shame because it sullies the good name of IT workers the world over. To protect your system from hack attacks like this, you?ll want to have a proactive security measure in place, like the security monitoring service provided by White Mountain IT Services. For all of your organization?s IT needs, call the real IT professionals at (603) 889-0800.
It?s clear that the average PC user won?t choose passwords that are as secure as they should be, primarily because users will prioritize ease-of-remembrance as one of the best qualities of a password. As explained in an essay from the University of Southern California, written by Marjan Ghazvininejad and Kevin Knight, it?s best to use randomly generated 60-bit strings (basically, a series of 60 ones and zeros), and convert these strings into words or phrases. This concept is based on a XKCD comic that depicts the pains of remembering complex passwords. The idea behind the comic is that you can take a string of numbers, like 10101101010100101101010101010, and convert segments of the string into English words. For example, the above string would read, ?correct horse battery staple,? which is ridiculous and doesn?t make any logical sense. However, if used as a password, users can create a mental image or a story to associate with the password, helping them remember it. Ghazvininejad and Knight suggest that, unlike the 44-bit string in the above example, users should opt for a 60-bit string, and give the password a poem-like structure. Doing so could make the password easier to remember. In other words, to put it in very simple terms, the idea is to make the password as easy to remember as possible for the user, while making it extraordinarily difficult for a computer to guess. By today?s standards, the 44-bit string would take around an hour to crack, while a 60-bit string would take well over a decade. That?s the kind of password security that your organization wants. If you don?t feel like getting overly technical with 60-bit code strings, it?s possible that you can use lines from existing poems to create a password. The creators of the passpoem, however, don?t suggest that you do so. There are millions of poems on the Internet, and the chances of this type of password getting hacked are much higher than if the string of characters were truly random. Still, using a line from your favorite poem is likely much more secure than a simple password like ?MOM385? or ?password,? so the idea shouldn?t be dismissed completely. You still need to be aware of the issues that come with this password strategy; for example, the risk of dictionary-type attacks could become a problem, even with using a long password. It?s up to you to know the complications and risks that come with your preferred password management policy. One of the biggest pain points about password management is that you need multiple/different passwords for all of your different accounts. When you have multiple complex passwords, it can be difficult to remember them all. This is what makes a password management system so effective. White Mountain IT Services can help your business get set up with the best password manager on the market. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
Gmail will soon inform users of whether or not messages were sent to them over an unencrypted network, in the hopes of improving online security for all users (and providers) of webmail. It?s a way of increasing awareness, as well as emphasizing the necessity of encryption for sensitive online services. While Gmail already takes advantage of an HTTPS encryption protocol for its own mail service, this is only a small step toward increasing the security of online email services. The HTTPS only encrypts the browser?s connection with the server, rather than all of the traffic to and from senders and receivers. In other words, unless the email provider is taking full advantage of encryption while messages are in transit, external parties could potentially be snooping around looking for information that doesn?t concern them. Providers like Google, Comcast, Microsoft, Yahoo, and some others, are taking advantage of protocols that can limit outside intervention by using STARTTLS. As explained by ZDNet: A lot of providers don’t support STARTTLS, meaning that any email encrypted by the sender can’t be read when it’s received on the other end. This so-called opportunistic encryption works when both email providers support STARTTLS. If one doesn’t, then the other provider falls back to an unencrypted form. Therefore, the most important aspect of this new email encryption protocol is the fact that it will encourage email providers to offer the same security measures that big names like Google and Microsoft do. While this new encryption notification policy can improve the way you read and interpret emails, you don?t want to rely on this method to keep your business?s communications solution safe. What you want to integrate is a comprehensive security protocol that?s capable of defending your business?s infrastructure from a variety of both internal and external threats, like viruses, malware, and spyware. While a firewall and an antivirus solution can go a long way toward limiting your business?s exposure to threats, you want a more powerful solution that encompasses all aspects of network security. The perfect solution for a small or medium-sized business is the Unified Threat Management tool, which combines a firewall and antivirus solution with preventative measures like content filtering and spam blocking capabilities. Such a comprehensive solution is optimized for maximum protection from threats of all types. For more information, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
Gartner predicts that Windows 10 will be used by half of all businesses come January 2017, which means that it will be one of the most widely used Windows versions so far. This is somewhat surprising, considering how its adoption rate thus far has been relatively tame. Businesses still like using their familiar Windows 7 operating system, and thus, feel little need to upgrade at the present moment. However, there are several noteworthy factors that will affect the adoption rate for Windows 10 over the next few years. For one, Windows 7 is slated for its end of support date in January 2020. This means that eventually, just like previous versions of Windows, like XP, Microsoft will cut the cord on its aging operating system. This means that users of Windows 7 will be forced to upgrade to something more recent, and considering the fact that Windows 8 and 8.1 are as unpopular as ever, Windows 10 is the natural choice for a replacement. According to ZDNet: Gartner said many organizations are planning to begin pilots for Windows 10 in the first half of 2016, and will broaden their deployments later in the year. It expects that at least half of organizations will have started some production deployments by the beginning of 2017, with an eye to completing their migrations in 2019. In other words, it will be quite some time before most businesses adopt Windows 10, but they?re still making plans to do so in the near future. In fact, up until very recently, the Windows 10 adoption rate was staggering, surpassing both Windows 7 and Windows 8. Granted, these figures fail to take into account the primary reason adoption has been so incredible: the free download. This free download is only for the first year that Windows 10 is available to consumers, but businesses want to make sure that they?re going to run into minimal resistance when upgrading to their new operating system. Just because everyone else is waiting to take advantage of the latest Windows operating system, doesn?t mean that you have to. You can get a leg up on the competition by upgrading to Windows 10 early, before your competitors decide to finally make the switch to Microsoft?s latest operating system. Doing so will give you access to great new features that will help you fully utilize your business?s technology solutions, as well as provide the peace of mind knowing that your tech is up to date and ready to go. It?s still recommended that you consult an IT professional before making this commitment, as legacy applications and other complications can arise that will need to be addressed by experts. White Mountain IT Services can answer your business?s questions about Windows 10, including how and when you should make the switch. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.
Snap To is a nifty feature that automatically moves your mouse pointer to dialogue boxes that might pop up while you?re using your PC. The dialogue boxes usually appear when you delete a file, close a window, or perform other similar tasks. When using Snap To, it?s important to make sure that you?re not just clicking the Ok button blindly. Otherwise, you might accidentally delete a file that you shouldn?t have, or you change a setting that otherwise wouldn?t normally be touched (like, ?are you sure you want to delete all files?). Paying attention to the messages as they appear will make it much easier to handle damage control. To enable this feature, go to Control Panel > Mouse Properties. Next, click on the Pointer Options tab and then checkmark the Snap To box that says ?Automatically move pointer to the default button in a dialog box.? Click OK or Apply when you?re done. Keep in mind that using Snap To might take a little while to get used to, primarily because it?ll be different from dragging your mouse pointer to each dialogue box manually. Just in case you don?t want to enable Snap To, you can usually just press the Enter key to select the Ok button in dialogue boxes. While Snap To might not seem like a very dynamic feature, by using it, you might find yourself saving quite a bit of time in the long run. The productivity-minded worker will understand the value that Snap To presents, and will enjoy the ease-of-navigation that comes without working with the mouse so often. Plus, some laptops have quirky touchpads, making Snap To an ideal candidate when you need to close out of dialogue boxes and get back to work. For more productivity tips and tricks, subscribe to White Mountain IT Services?s blog.
