Processor magazine digs deeper into what makes advanced malware so much more dangerous than the typical malware you encounter most of the time. Robert Clyde, the international vice president of ISACA, explains how advanced malware operates: ?The nature of advanced malware is that it?s targeted, it?s stealthy, it?s evasive, and it?s adaptive.? All of these traits combined turn the traditional malware variety into a lethal, targeted dose of annoyance designed to bring down even the largest targets. Generic malware is typically created to disrupt a system and wreak general havoc. Unfortunately, advanced malware is far more complex than that. It?s usually designed with a specific target or goal in mind. More often than not, the purpose of this advanced malware is to collect information, infect key systems, or sabotage particular data, and it?s designed to fulfill this purpose in the most convenient and reliable manner possible. The term, ?Advanced Persistent Threats,? might come to mind, and it?s often used to describe threats which aim to meet their goals over an extended period of time, rather than immediately. Defenses put into place against standard malware varieties aren?t the best way to combat these dangerous strains. It?s not uncommon for these threats to cause more trouble as soon as they?re identified, and they can spread the contagion throughout your network by jumping from system to system. This makes it far more difficult to corner and eliminate them. The easiest and most practical way of dealing with these kinds of threats is by taking advantage of White Mountain IT Services?s Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution. This is a four-pronged offensive against malicious entities that can be found online. The first step is to protect your business?s network from getting infiltrated in the first place, and that?s where a powerful firewall comes into play. This acts like a bouncer, keeping only safe and secure data from accessing your network. It also keeps threats from leaving your network if they?ve been detected, allowing for a prompt deletion. Other preventative measures that are taken include integrating a powerful spam blocking solution, as well as a content filtering protocol. This keeps dangerous and persistent spear-phishing threats from targeting you by eliminating the majority of time-wasting and annoying spam, and protects your team from accessing sites which hold potentially malicious code. And, finally, the UTM integrates an enterprise-level antivirus software into your IT strategy which is capable of detecting and eliminating the nastiest threats on the Internet. This helps you maintain control of your network at all times. If you?re not sure about your current network security situation, White Mountain IT Services provides free network security audits that are liability-free. This lets you confirm your suspicions and take steps to prevent the situation from getting worse. If you?re not sure how to proceed, calling White Mountain IT Services is the best decision you can make. We?ll help you locate and exterminate current threats, and take proactive steps toward securing your network from new ones. Just call (603) 889-0800 for more information.
Keep in mind that most online accounts offer a two-factor authentication too, and as is the case with Google, setting up this extra security measure is easy to do. How Google 2-Step Verification WorksGoogle?s 2-Step Verification security feature works by signing in to Google using your password, as you normally would. Before you?re given access to your account, Google will send your phone a temporary security code, via an SMS message, voice call, or mobile app that will complete the login process. Google also gives you the option to have your second step be a Security Key that you insert into your computer?s USB port. The advantage of using 2-Step Verification is that a user will need to have a physical piece of hardware, like your smartphone or USB Security Key, in order to log in. This makes it much more difficult for your account to be hacked because the hacker needs both your password and your phone, which effectively eliminates everybody outside of the people you?re in immediate contact with. How to Get Set Up with 2-Step VerificationGetting set up with Google?s 2-Step account is as easy as logging into your Google account and then going to this URL: https://accounts.google.com/SmsAuthConfig Click on Start setup >> and Google will walk you through the rest. This will include giving Google your phone number so they can send you an SMS message every time you sign in. Be sure to have your phone handy before clicking on the Start setup icon. It?s important to keep in mind that Google’s 2-Step Verification isn?t limited to SMS messages. When setting up this security feature, you will be presented with the option to use your landline phone number to retrieve your second step login code via an automated phone call from Google. Additionally, if you plan on using your Google account while traveling, you can print off a set of one-time-use codes from the account security page. Remember that other online accounts offer two-factor authentication as well. To achieve the highest online security possible for your accounts, we highly recommend that you take advantage of this security feature everywhere that it?s offered. If you would like help setting up your company with two-factor authentication for its online accounts, as well as setting up other network security solutions that pull the rug out from underneath the hackers, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.
It All Goes to One PlaceIn the same way that many printers used in businesses are connected to a network made up of multiple printers, an organization with an office big enough to have multiple toilets has all of their porcelain thrones hooked up to the same network of pipes leading to one big drain hole exiting the building. Now, what would happen if every potty in the office was flushed at the same time? If the main drain wasn?t built to handle the flow, you would have a very messy problem on your hands. Can Your Business Handle a Super Flush?Engineers prepare for this potential problem and design their plumbing systems to be able to handle a maximum flush scenario where all the building?s toilets flush at the same time. Due to this risk, new sports stadiums participate in an event called a ?super flush? before officially opening. At a super flush event, hundreds of fans take positions at every toilet in the stadium to simultaneously flush each one. Don?t believe us? Here’s an example of a super flush event from Florida Atlantic University before they opened their new stadium. For the event, 100 FAU faithful reported for duty and flushed all 365 stalls. Go Owls! Is your company?s computer network prepared for a super flush, more commonly referred to as a virtual peak flow test? What would happen if every employee in your office hit ?print? at the exact same time? Due to the fact that a single print job takes up a significant amount of bandwidth, a printer super flush would likely cripple your network causing your system to experience downtime–which would be the equivalent (though less messy) of a failed super flush at a sports stadium during a playoff game. A Print Server, Your #1 Print SolutionThe best way to have your network pass a virtual peak flow test is to grab a monkey wrench and install a print server solution from White Mountain IT Services. It?s the job of the print server to handle all of the print traffic on your company?s network. That way, your main servers that host your business-critical applications won?t be clogged if there?s a sudden and unexpected burst of print jobs. How?s that for Sweet Relief! With a print server from White Mountain IT Services redirecting all print traffic to a dedicated server giving you expanded printing options, like increased printing controls, your network will be freed up to handle all of your business-related traffic at high-flow speeds. There?s nothing quite like the satisfaction you receive from a network where everything works at the push of a lever. For more information, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.
The Selfie Sombrero Talk about making a fashion statement. The selfie sombrero claims to be ?the world?s first Selfie-Hat,? and it works by integrating the Acer Iconia A1-840 tablet with a glittery sombrero. As you can tell by the picture, the tablet hangs off the brim of the hat, allowing the user to adjust the position of the brim with the attached device. This lets the selfie taker work with the available lighting, find the best angle, and, according to a press release by Acer, ?Ultimately, create the perfect social media moment.? The Selfie Brush If your hair doesn?t look good, a selfie can be a disaster. Enter the Selfie Brush; the easy way to ?Have your best hair in every selfie.? The selfie brush is an ingenious solution that combines the wasted space on the back of your mobile device with the flat side of your hairbrush. The Selfie Brush also includes a rectangular mirror on the device side so you can make sure that you look oh-so good before snapping and sharing your selfie to social media. The Selfie Stick Whereas the selfie brush and sombrero might be rather impractical inventions, especially for the average user who doesn?t obsess over the perfect selfie, the selfie stick might actually be practical enough to consider purchasing? maybe. Essentially, the selfie stick is exactly like it sounds; a stick with your device attached to the end of it, extending up to 39 inches. The selfie stick in conjunction with a camera?s auto timer allows users to take selfies, bypassing the need to ask a stranger to take their picture. In fact, for better or worse, you might have even seen the selfie stick in action at a tourist attraction. Just a few short years ago none of these selfie technologies existed; in fact, the word ?selfie? wasn’t even considered to be a real word from the learned folks over at Oxford. Yet, here we are as a society, snapping and sharing selfies while coming up with new and clever ways to do it. What about you? Do you have an opinion about this selfie phenomena? Do any of these selfie technologies appeal to you? Do you know of any cool selfie technologies that we didn?t mention? Let us know in the comments and feel free to send us a picture of your best selfie!
Surveillance CamerasWe’ll start with a solution for those in dire need to fix a major productivity issue. Employees work harder if their boss is working alongside them. If you step out of the room, or rarely spend time working with your staff, then how do you know for sure that they?re working as hard as they can? Some workers might even view their manager?s absence as an opportunity to waste time–this action is commonly referred to as ?loafing.? Thanks to surveillance systems being more affordable than ever before, it?s easy for your company to install a surveillance system so that you can keep an eye on your workers when you?re not around. With a camera installed in the room and pointing right at them, your staff won?t feel at liberty to loaf and you?ll see your productivity numbers go up. White Mountain IT Services can equip your business with digital surveillance systems that tie directly into your company?s network. Digital surveillance systems come with a variety of features, like giving you the ability to watch live surveillance footage on your mobile device while you?re out of the office. Automatic Door LocksOne way that employees tend to leak company time is through their breaks. A few extra minutes taken here and there, a few extended lunches, showing up to work a few minutes late, all of these time-wasting habits done over a consistent basis adds up to a significant amount of time lost that can drastically cut into company profits. You can take back all of this wasted time by installing automatic locks on doors and scheduling when breaks occur. If the workday starts at 8:00 a.m., and that?s when you expect your workers to be in the building and logged onto their computers, then you can set the automatic lock to lock the front door at 8:00 on the dot. If a worker is being irresponsible and running late, then they just lost a day?s pay; too bad, so sad. You can also add automatic locks on the door to the break room. Automatic locks can be seen as a rather extreme measure, but it?s well worth it if that?s what it takes to get back the money lost from employees wasting company time. As a bonus, like surveillance cameras, automatic door locks can also be controlled by your mobile device. Content FilteringWhat your employees do or don?t do on their assigned workstation can significantly cut into your company?s profits. Even the best workers are susceptible to distractions from the Internet like YouTube, Facebook, BuzzFeed, Twitter, and all the other websites that have nothing to do with work. A content filtering solution for your network is able to block employees from visiting websites that you deem to be irrelevant to their job. Companies that have implemented a content filtering solution have seen productivity increase by as much as 23 percent. Monitoring with UTMContent filtering is part of White Mountain IT Services?s Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution. In addition to content filtering, an enterprise-level firewall, and other top-notch security measures, a UTM gives you the ability to monitor how users spend their time using workstations and mobile devices connected to your company?s network. This will clue you in if time is being wasted playing games, streaming movies, and other general loafing activities that you?ve not yet blocked […]
