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For modern businesses, having a centralized network is still normal. On this network you?ll find at the very least email, some sort of file database support, a security solution, and a backup system. You would also have some endpoints, whether they are workstations, laptops, or mobile devices. That?s about as bare bones as any business could get. As the organization grows, more has to be added. Some organizations have moved significant parts of their computing infrastructure offsite, either to the cloud or to a colocation center where they still have a good deal of control over the management of the infrastructure.  Besides servers and endpoints, there are plenty of pieces of technology the average business uses. There is the modem, and the routers, switches, printers, and more. Then there are other options that businesses often take advantage of such as security systems, digital signage, and other solutions that require additional hardware. All of which come with an assigned cost.  The scaling of all this hardware doesn?t necessarily happen as the company grows. While some organizations may need a hosted VoIP system, for others it simply doesn’t make any sense. This goes for CRM or any other management software, security systems, productivity software, cloud storage, and other software-based solutions. Since many cloud-based platforms are beginning to see higher degrees of utilization, a lot of companies are avoiding huge upfront costs associated with purchasing hardware by relying on these cloud systems, which are more attractive, but whose TCO may actually be higher. By transferring the type of expense to a more recurring, operational expense, today?s businesses are able to accomplish more with less. Additionally, most businesses today are beginning to utilize online marketing platforms, whether they be through a dedicated website, social media platforms, or other means. The cost of these strategies tend to be variable even though most organizations will adhere to a very fixed percentage of total revenue for a marketing budget.  How Small Business IT Deployment Stacks Up As you might expect, the average small business spends a higher percentage of their revenue on IT than larger organizations. According to Gartner, most small businesses, which make up over 99 percent of surveyed companies, and nearly 83 percent of total IT dollars, will spend upward of six percent of their revenue on IT, while larger organizations typically spend around three percent of theirs. This means that smaller businesses are paying more of their available money to get the IT that larger organizations get. This can present problems if a core part of a small business? IT infrastructure fails, or if there is a project that is mismanaged or fails to meet the expected return; a cost that many larger organizations can manage.  However, the market for IT seems very strong with one survey concluding that technology spending across small businesses has grown a whopping 4.8 percent over the past six years; and is expected to grow another 5.1 percent in 2023.  Obviously, larger businesses don?t pay quite as much per worker, but they are cognizant of technology innovation, especially with new solutions available that can reduce downtime, manage mounds of company data, and reduce management costs at the same time. Most larger businesses have already implemented a lot of the technological systems that smaller businesses struggle to implement, so they […]

Unfollowing vs Unfriending First, it?s important to distinguish between the two actions. Unfollowing is different from unfriending. The latter is reserved for only those who you wish to remove entirely from your feed. The Unfollow feature is more for staying connected, but without the constant updates in your news feed. So, unless you?re interested in removing your virtual connection to an account entirely, the Unfollow option will be the preferred choice. Unfollow a Friend or Page You can unfollow a friend or a page with relative ease. All you have to do is navigate to the top of the profile to find the blue button. It should say Following. If you click that button, you?ll see options, one of which is Unfollow. Once you click the option, the process will complete. If you?re using the mobile application, the feature works the same way. Look for the Following button, tap it, and select the appropriate response. If you see something in your news feed that you would prefer to never see again, you can unfollow someone directly from there, too. You just click the ellipsis button and select the option to Unfollow that user. If you?d rather just keep your social media activity to a minimum while in the workplace rather than simply curating your feed, you can do that through the use of a web content blocker. This will keep time wasted by your employees to a minimum while they are at work. If you?d rather not block certain websites from all employees, then you also have that capability. You can receive insights into how your team uses these websites and restrict access according to what you feel is necessary. It?s great for maintaining productivity without being overly restrictive for all. To learn more about how you can effectively leverage technology for the sake of productivity, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

Will artificial intelligence take everybody?s job? Will robots truly take over? We decided it would only be fair to let an actual artificial intelligence chime in and defend itself, but before we do, let?s talk about what this technology is, how it works, and where it could lead us in the future. What is Artificial Intelligence? Ever read Isaac Asimov? How about the 2001 film, A.I. Artificial Intelligence? If you want to be a little more contemporary, we can reference Marvel?s Age of Ultron or HBO?s Westworld. Either way, most dramatized references to artificial intelligence usually involve a being that has a computerized brain that decides it isn?t quite a machine and it isn?t quite human, but it definitely is capable of making better decisions than those that created it.  Usually this goes very badly for the humans, at least for a while. This isn?t something strictly bound to the concept of artificial intelligence, but more to intelligence in general. Without getting too dorky on you, if we made contact with aliens tomorrow that were massively more intelligent than humans, we would struggle to understand their motives. The concept of most science fiction AI is the same?artificial intelligence in most science fiction is able to scale far beyond the scope of what a human brain can process, thus making it scary and potentially very dangerous. This is all just science fiction and entertainment though. In movies and books and all the other entertainment mediums, we tend to give the AI a character. It isn?t just a source of information, it is a living, breathing, thinking person?it just thinks and acts on its own and then (usually) tries to conquer the world.  Fortunately, we?re not even close to producing that.  Instead, the thing that we call ?Artificial Intelligence? is more of a virtual intelligence. It takes data that its developers feed into it, and is able to make billions and billions of connections between that information, and from that, it is able to see and derive patterns and make informed decisions on the fly.  Modern-day autopilot features on self-driving cars do this. After feeding millions or billions of different driving scenarios into a system, an AI can be developed that says ?Hey, sometimes stop signs can be a little crooked, but I can still recognize it as a stop sign.? In fact, almost everyone uses AI nearly every single day. If you do a Google search, you are technically using AI because the search engine crawls millions of websites and indexes information automatically without a human directly manipulating it. At the end of the day, modern artificial intelligence is taking massive amounts of information and coming up with different, digestible ways to put it together. It finds patterns that we might not have the time or patience to see, or to produce new combinations of information in totally new and unique ways. Will Artificial Intelligence Take My Job? Perhaps we should let the AI answer this question, but we wanted to give our prediction first?probably not.  Like any technology, it might make your job easier. There might be businesses that downsize because they think some new AI technology will replace human workers. After all, some businesses would love to cut payroll. Just look at the Fort Worth McDonalds that is nearly […]

In the case of the password, it?s often beneficial to know what not to do in addition to what you should do. What Makes for a Bad Password? Bad passwords are a little bit of a misnomer these days, especially as passwords are simply not the ideal way to protect important information anymore; rather, they should be a part of a multi-factor authentication solution. But alas, that?s not why we are here today. Passwords are still popular methods of protecting accounts, so we have to go over what makes them effective or ineffective. Passwords are bad when they are not as secure as they need to be, which could be for a variety of reasons. Maybe they aren?t as complicated as they should be, or maybe they are simply repeated over too many accounts. Passwords can be a hindrance to account security, but they can also be boons when created properly. Let?s discuss how you can make strong, complex passwords. Creating Strong Passwords Be sure to keep the following practices in mind for creating strong passwords: Don?t Repeat Your PasswordsIt doesn?t matter how strong a password is when it?s your single line of defense for multiple different accounts. All it takes is one instance of a data breach to expose that password to hackers, leading to multiple accounts being vulnerable. You can increase your security substantially by simply using different complex passwords for each of your accounts. Make Them ComplexWhat do we mean by complex passwords? It?s simple; they should be easy enough to remember, but difficult to guess. You can use a passphrase, for instance, using random words that you?ve put together. Throw some numbers and symbols in there too for good measure. Never Include Personal DetailsYou shouldn?t include personal details in your passwords because depending on how much information you share publicly on social media, the information could be used against you. Remember, the password should be easy to remember, but difficult to guess, and if there is information about you known to the hacker, they can potentially guess the password. Use a Password ManagerThe average user has countless passwords that they use to secure their accounts, so keeping track of multiple, complex passwords is a tall order even for the most dedicated employee. A password manager can make it easier to keep track of them all, and for those who have trouble with recycling passwords, many of these managers have built-in password generators. A password manager works by securing multiple passwords in an encrypted vault protected by a master password, so instead of remembering multiple passwords, you just have to keep track of one. Need a Hand with Cybersecurity? White Mountain IT Services is happy to help you navigate the challenges associated with cybersecurity. To learn more about what we can do for your business, contact us today at (603) 889-0800.

Look, we?re just as sick of talking about hackers and such as you are sick of hearing about them?we?d much rather spend more time discussing how you could make your business better instead of warding off the leeches who are just trying to steal the spoils of your hard work. Unfortunately, here we are. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to help protect your small business, its data, and its infrastructure. Put More Effort Into Using Quality Passwords It?s pretty standard for computing systems to require a username and password login before access will be granted, giving you your first opportunity to tighten your defenses. Make sure that your team both understands how to create a secure password, and how important it is that they are diligent in doing so. Developing a unified password strategy will help to do this. The three elements of this process are as follows: Password creation – First, it is important that the passwords being used are secure. Best practices dictate that the best passwords and passphrases are those that are easily remembered, but wouldn?t necessarily be guessed. Your secret code can be further strengthened by sprinkling in different cases and alphanumeric switching. Password management – The average user?provided they are following best practices?will ultimately need to remember dozens of passwords. This practically impossible task becomes far easier to manage with a quality password management system?an encrypted vault that allows you to securely store your passwords behind a singular credential. Multi-factor authentication – Many modern accounts feature multi-factor authentication (also known as two-factor authentication) as an additional means of protecting verified access. With MFA enabled, anyone trying to log into one of your accounts will need to provide the correct username, password, and additional proof of identity, whether that?s a generated code or a biometric scan. The point is, improving how effective your identity authentication measures are, the more of a challenge for a cybercriminal to overcome. Maintain Your Software Secondly, you need to make sure that you are attending to any vulnerabilities that present themselves via the software your business utilizes, primarily because the software hasn?t been updated and patched appropriately. While zero-day threats may not have a patch released yet, this is just a fraction of the vulnerabilities that hackers regularly utilize. Whatever size it may be, a security-focused company will always prioritize patching and updating their software?and that?s inclusive of every piece of software a company uses, from productivity to security to communications. Naturally, this takes some time, which is why it is an integral part of the managed services provided by White Mountain IT Services as a part of our professional agreements. Not only is it important to do for your security, it also makes it far easier for us to do our jobs. Effectively, it?s a win-win. Patch and Update Software Another frequent form of infiltration into any network is accomplished through exploiting vulnerabilities in the business? infrastructure. This happens when the software that a business depends on is not patched and updated promptly. Sure, there are situations where no patch is available for a vulnerability (known as zero-day threats), but these are much less likely than cyberattackers using known vulnerabilities that haven?t been patched yet.  There are dozens of steps that can be taken to prevent hackers from […]