However, you don?t want to take advice from just anyone. There are several things that you should be careful of when seeking a consultant. What You Shouldn?t Do Make consultation your only option. Outsourcing can be a valuable tool for businesses who need to accomplish a lot with a small staff, but if you spread your team too thin, you won?t know what?s going on. If you lose control of things, you might think that consultation is the only way out of the mess. Don?t fall into this trap. You should always know what needs to be done and how to do it. Confuse your responsibilities with your consultation agency?s. This is simply a matter of priority and responsibility. When you set out to receive business or IT consultation, both parties should know what they will be responsible for doing. Map it out beforehand and discuss it until you come to an agreement. Then, feel free to move forward. Lose sight of your true goal. With so much going on, it?s easy to forget what your goals are. Don?t let this happen to you. Take some time to outline what your goals are and when you want to accomplish them by. Consultants can help you gather information and build this outline. What You Should Do Avoid ambiguity. This is all about communication and making sure that everyone is on the same page. If your consultant doesn?t know what your plans are, or assumes too much, you won?t get accurate advice. Avoid this by remaining open. Find the perfect fit. On occasion, you?ll find yourself in a situation when entrusting an entire project to a consultant is beneficial. You want to make sure that you can trust the consultant to finish the project on time and within budget. To this end, only hire those who have proven their worth and have experience in the field. They might look good on paper, but nothing beats a trial run. Take responsibility for your actions. Once you make a decision, it?s with you until the end. Be prepared to accept the responsibility for what you do, especially if it?s bad. Don?t blame others, such as your consultant, for your mistakes. To this end, make sure that you hire someone who has skills that you yourself don?t have. This minimizes the chances that you?ll be stuck in a situation you don?t understand. At White Mountain IT Services, we know that operating a business is stressful, and that you have a lot on your plate. We always keep our clients in the loop and advise them every step of the way in their IT and business adventure. At the heart of our managed IT and consultation services, we are professionals who want nothing more than to see our clients succeed. White Mountain IT Services can perform any function of an in-house IT department without the need for extra salaries and expenses. If you can use a hand in outrunning the competition, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800. We?ll provide you with our expert opinions, as well as a technology roadmap that plans for the future, that will give you an edge on others in your industry.
Just like how malware is designed to reverse-engineer software to find flaws, antivirus and anti-malware software is designed to perform the same feat on viruses and malware. It looks for flaws in its code that can be exploited to remove it. Now, what would happen if you prevented malware from using this technique to find exploits in the first place? This is what security researcher, Jacob Torrey, is wondering. He presented his idea for a Hardened Anti-Reverse Engineering System (HARES) at the Singapore SyScan conference this March. The idea behind HARES is that it encrypts the software?s code until the processor absolutely needs to execute it. This means that the software can?t be decoded until it?s being executed, which makes it vastly more difficult for hackers to reverse-engineer the software. According to WIRED magazine: The result is a tough-to-crack protection from any hacker who would pirate the software, suss out security flaws that could compromise users, and even in some cases understand its basic functions. Unfortunately, as most developers of new technology know, there are always ways to turn something that can benefit the online community into a dangerous tool. HARES isn?t meant to create unencryptable malware, but you can bet that hackers will still attempt to use it to their benefit somehow. This puts unsuspecting systems at risk of hacking attacks, and if the technique were to become mainstream in the hacking community, it could lead to even more chaos. HARES obviously isn?t perfect, and it can be tricked through a number of different methods. When an application uses some type of encryption protocol, the decryption key needs to be installed in the computer?s CPU so the program is capable of encrypting it when necessary. A hacker that?s been around the block a time or two can potentially intercept this key while it?s in transit. This can let them decrypt the application and let them see the program?s commands, which allows them to counteract the protocol. One other method that hackers might use is by taking advantage of debugging features found within some hardware. This lets cybercriminals investigate commands made between the chip and the motherboard. The tools required for this kind of procedure are ridiculously expensive, so the average hacker probably won?t be able to afford them; therefore, it?s more logical to assume that this will see use on a national level. As always, it?s best to make sure you?re protected from the latest security threats. A Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution from White Mountain IT Services is the best bet business?s have to ensure maximum network security. The UTM is a comprehensive solution complete with firewall, antivirus, spam blocking, and content filtering functions. This helps keep your network air-tight while online. Give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800 to find out more about this solution.
Even the most innocent Internet user can fall victim to the stray hacking attack, and it?s all thanks to the manner in which malware reverse-engineers software. This process is how a hacker finds vulnerabilities in software. However, a new security concept might be able to protect software from the reverse-engineering method used by hackers. Just like how malware is designed to reverse-engineer software to find flaws, antivirus and anti-malware software is designed to perform the same feat on viruses and malware. It looks for flaws in its code that can be exploited to remove it. Now, what would happen if you prevented malware from using this technique to find exploits in the first place? This is what security researcher, Jacob Torrey, is wondering. He presented his idea for a Hardened Anti-Reverse Engineering System (HARES) at the Singapore SyScan conference this March. The idea behind HARES is that it encrypts the software?s code until the processor absolutely needs to execute it. This means that the software can?t be decoded until it?s being executed, which makes it vastly more difficult for hackers to reverse-engineer the software. According to WIRED magazine: The result is a tough-to-crack protection from any hacker who would pirate the software, suss out security flaws that could compromise users, and even in some cases understand its basic functions. Unfortunately, as most developers of new technology know, there are always ways to turn something that can benefit the online community into a dangerous tool. HARES isn?t meant to create unencryptable malware, but you can bet that hackers will still attempt to use it to their benefit somehow. This puts unsuspecting systems at risk of hacking attacks, and if the technique were to become mainstream in the hacking community, it could lead to even more chaos. HARES obviously isn?t perfect, and it can be tricked through a number of different methods. When an application uses some type of encryption protocol, the decryption key needs to be installed in the computer?s CPU so the program is capable of encrypting it when necessary. A hacker that?s been around the block a time or two can potentially intercept this key while it?s in transit. This can let them decrypt the application and let them see the program?s commands, which allows them to counteract the protocol. One other method that hackers might use is by taking advantage of debugging features found within some hardware. This lets cybercriminals investigate commands made between the chip and the motherboard. The tools required for this kind of procedure are ridiculously expensive, so the average hacker probably won?t be able to afford them; therefore, it?s more logical to assume that this will see use on a national level. As always, it?s best to make sure you?re protected from the latest security threats. A Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution from White Mountain IT Services is the best bet business?s have to ensure maximum network security. The UTM is a comprehensive solution complete with firewall, antivirus, spam blocking, and content filtering functions. This helps keep your network air-tight while online. Give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800 to find out more about this solution.
If you outsource your IT needs, you get the benefit of an entire IT staff from a predictable, easy-to-budget price. This makes it far more cost-efficient than hiring new staff members. However, not all IT agencies are equal, and some are far more professional than others. How can you tell the champs from the chumps? A simple business interview can sometimes be all you need to figure it out. Major IT TrendsA safe question to ask is if they are following the major trends of the IT industry. If the company is paying attention to important discoveries, such as major bugs in software or patch releases, that means that they are passionate about what they do, and that passion can benefit your company greatly. At White Mountain IT Services, we follow many different news outlets and are always aware of recent happenings in the tech community. We know that a good IT staff needs to pay attention to trends, and we adapt our strategies accordingly. Difficult Tasks? No ProblemSometimes your staff might get in over their heads and have trouble operating their technology. Nobody understands how to do everything, and the same goes for your prospective outsourced IT company. A good question to ask them at an interview is how they handle unclear circumstances. Their methods of gaining necessary information or clarifying the situation can tell a lot about the service that a company can provide. White Mountain IT Services works with you and your local IT staff to ensure that there is as little confusion as possible between your party and ours. If something is unclear, we?ll work with you to achieve a level of clarity that is necessary to do a job the way that it needs to be done – right. Hypothetical QuestionsGive your outsourcing candidates difficult decisions to make and watch them squirm. If they struggle to answer and react, they probably aren?t worth hiring. Often times, the answer isn?t as important as the thought process they put into it. You get to see their information-gathering skills on the fly, and analyze the way that they resolve problems. White Mountain IT Services will find the best way to resolve your problems, both timely and economically. We know that some problems can?t be fixed as quickly as you would like, but we put our all into finding the best solution as quickly as possible. Finding an IT provider that suits your needs doesn?t always have to be challenging. Call White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800 today and give us an interview. You can see for yourself just how qualified we are to handle all of your IT needs.
It?s long been thought that the domestic cat?s seemingly spastic behavior was a sign of inferior intelligence. However, the human race in recent years has been quick to forget that the people of ancient civilizations revered cats as gods and spiritual entities for a reason. As it turns out, new research shows that cats are potentially much more proficient with technology than even humans are, opposable thumbs aside. With their superior knowledge, skillsets, and behavioral traits, they are capable of performing quality technology maintenance and support with ease? so long as you don?t mind a hairball or two. Cats Have Exceptional MemoryIt?s been proven that cats have the potential to remember events that occurred up to ten years ago. Considering how most cats alive today have been exposed to technology, it?s logical to assume that these cats have retained knowledge of their exposure to it. Just like the children of today, these felines have a predisposition and innate understanding of technology. This means that they have experience from an early age that they can recall within a moment?s notice. This isn?t unlike the technology professionals at White Mountain IT Services, who have years upon years of experience in the industry. Therefore, feline understanding of technology isn?t such a farfetched theory. In fact, it makes perfect sense. The kittens of today are the IT technicians of tomorrow, and they continue to learn and teach themselves as they grow older. Cats Are CuriousIf cats are anything at all, they?re curious. If they spot something they?re interested in, they?ll dig until they find it. This is a trait that?s found in most IT technicians. The reason they got involved with technology is likely due to their desire to understand how something works. This primal instinct is much stronger in cats, as they aren?t restricted by the rules of logic and reasoning when searching for the fix to an issue. They?ll knock a glass of water off the table to learn about gravity. If they smell something good, they?ll dig through the garbage until they find it. Of course, cats don?t have much capacity for cause and effect, so they might try the same tactic multiple times to no avail. But hey, nobody?s perfect, right? Cats Are ProtectiveOne of the most important traits for an IT worker to have is to be territorial. When something unfamiliar steps into their realm, like viruses or malware, they?re quick to act. They immediately take steps to eliminate the threat from the network. Just like the IT technician, cats pay very close attention to their territory and dislike intruders. They take measures to keep them out, and are prepared to fight in order to protect their realm with tooth and claw. With White Mountain IT Services?s Office Cat Technician solution, we?ll provide your business with a specialized feline technician who keeps an eye on both your company?s technology and cuteness situation. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more. Disclaimer: White Mountain IT Services isn?t liable for any damages caused by the Office Cat Technician solution, including: chewed or frayed cords, destroyed technology, medical bills caused by allergic reactions, smelly carpets, and more. Happy April Fool?s Day from all of the technicians at White Mountain IT Services!
