Tag: Microsoft

Improve the value of your business data

Are you making the most of your business’s greatest assets? The data your employees and customers generate is an unsung hero, just waiting to take your business to the next level. Obviously, enough information can help any company make better decisions, but how can a small or medium-sized organization use data analysis to increase revenue?

Many businesses shy away from data analytics due to the perceived costs and resources required to get anything of value. However, even the most humble mom-and-pop stores and home-based entrepreneurs have access to a broad range of worthwhile information.

It doesn’t make sense to spend half your week mired in spreadsheets and charts if you’re not extracting information that helps increase revenue. Basic data analytics solutions from companies like Microsoft and Google offer solutions to streamline the collection and examination of company information. But with an array of different tools to choose from, what should you consider before investing in one?

How easy is it to use? There’s no point investing in a dashboard solution if you don’t understand the way the insights are presented. Analysis functions must be straightforward and user-friendly.

Are the results actionable? Great insights are worthless if applying them requires another staff member that you can’t afford. Test drive an analytics solution before investing to ensure that its insights are easy to understand and apply.

Does it save you time? If you’re already relying on data analysis for growth, your first priority should be boosting productivity. Look for solutions that will enable you to complete your current analytics tasks in less time.

Is it compatible with other apps? You need a solution that cuts down on manual data entry and doesn’t add steps to any existing processes. Make sure any analytics software you’re considering can integrate with your existing solutions before signing on the dotted line.

Whether your aim is to attract new customers, retain existing clients, expand your services, or decide on a new location, your data is an indispensable asset. It’s there in good times and bad times, just waiting for you to take a closer look.

If you’d like to learn more about adding value to your business with data analysis, or want to explore data analysis software options, get in touch with us today – we’ll be happy to recommend options based on your needs and requirements.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Office 365’s apps get a revamp

If you’re one of the million-plus users taking advantage of Office 365’s premium productivity apps, you’ll soon notice some changes. Last June, Microsoft revealed that Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word will be getting a design revamp in the coming months. Here’s a preview of what’s to come.

Simplified ribbon

The biggest update is with the ribbon, which is a command bar at the top of a window. The new design now has a simpler, cleaner look that gives users the chance to customize the tools they work with most, simply by pinning apps or files to your Windows taskbar. Even though this new ribbon is designed with simplicity in mind, if you don’t find it helpful you can still revert back to the regular three-line view.

Some users may already be using this new ribbon in the online version of Word, while Outlook for Windows will receive it sometime this month. However, Microsoft disclosed that they aren’t yet ready to roll it out to PowerPoint, Word, and Excel for Windows.

Improved search option

One of the major changes is with the search option in Microsoft Office apps. The developers improved the search experience by using Microsoft graph, so users can now see search recommendations when they move their cursor to the search box. Some have already seen this update take effect, but it won’t be available for Outlook on the web until August.

Better colors and icons

To make the overall design more aesthetically pleasing, the colors and icons of every app have been revamped, too. They wanted a more modern look crisp and clean no matter the size of the user’s screen, which is why they employed scalable graphics. It first debuted on Word before appearing on Excel, PowerPoint, and Works for Windows last month. As for Outlook for Windows and Mac, users can expect the update later this summer.

Office 365 is constantly evolving to benefit subscribers. And to make things even more interesting, users will be chosen at random over the next several months to receive the updates, and Microsoft will gather their reviews to make further improvements. Co-creating new features with customers is something Microsoft truly believes in, so this isn’t simply a social media tactic.

So as you hang tight for these coming changes, consider increasing office collaboration by migrating your files to the cloud. Call us today to get started!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Microsoft expands Bing’s Visual Search

How many times have you wanted to search the internet for something you didn’t know the name of? It’s a common problem that Microsoft helps solve with AI features included in its search engine, Bing. Visual Search allows users to replace text queries with images for more nuanced results and it’s now available on your smartphone.

How does visual search work?

Bing has indexed billions of images posted on the internet and most of them have text descriptions of some sort. This has made it possible for Microsoft to create programs that look for similarities in image contents and labels to create computer-generated definitions of everyday objects. So if you were to take a photo of the White House and upload it to Bing, the search engine could tell you what it is without any human input.

Although it may seem like little more than a novelty, Visual Search makes it much easier for eCommerce shoppers to find niche products. Bing can help people identify hard-to-name items and suggest stores that sell them, such as “slip joint pliers” at a local hardware shop or “gaucho pants” at an online clothing retailer.

What’s new?

In June, Microsoft announced that Visual Search is now available within Bing’s iOS and Android apps, as well as Android’s Microsoft Launcher. Just open the app, tap the camera button and take a photo from your phone or choose an image from the gallery. If you’d like to narrow your search, tap the magnifying glass button and crop your image to highlight specific objects within the photo.

In the near future, Visual Search will be added to Microsoft’s Edge browser and Bing.com. It’s a useful feature for finding what you need and helping customers do the same. For insight and support related to any of Microsoft’s products, give our experts a call today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Flash to be stopped in Office 365

If you are one of the few Office 365 users who embeds Silverlight, Shockwave, or Flash content in your documents, your pastime will soon be a thing of the past. Over a week ago, Microsoft announced that Office 365 would completely block said media by January 2019.

Microsoft recently announced plans to eventually stop the activation of Silverlight, Shockwave, and Flash content in Office 365. This is not just the developers disabling bugs with an option to click a link or button to look at content. Within a few months’ time, Flash will be gone from Office 365 for good.

What media will be affected once this is implemented?

Microsoft Silverlight and Adobe Flash or Shockwave content that uses Microsoft’s OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) platform and the “Insert Object” feature will be blocked. However, media that uses the “Insert Online Video” control via an Internet Explorer browser frame will not be affected by this change.

The following timeline shows the various changes that will take full effect by January 2019:

  • Controls in the Office 365 Monthly Channel will be blocked beginning June 2018.
  • Controls in the Office 365 Semi-Annual Targeted (SAT) Channel will be blocked beginning September 2018.
  • Controls in the Office 365 Semi-Annual Channel will be blocked beginning January 2019.

Why did the developers choose to take out the embedded content?

Microsoft pointed out various reasons for making their decision. It cited that malware authors have been exploiting systems through Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files with embedded content, and that most Office 365 users did not use or rarely use the controls anyway.

Aside from this, the developers at Microsoft decided to take action after Adobe announced that Flash would reach its end-of-life cycle by 2020. Silverlight was discontinued in 2016, where enterprise customers would have support for the medium until 2021.

For businesses that still need to look at or embed Silverlight- or Flash-based content in an Office 365 document, Microsoft has provided a support page to guide users on re-activating the controls.

As more websites are transitioning away from Flash in favor of HTML5, Microsoft’s once-popular platform has experienced a steady decline over the years. According to Google, Chrome users who loaded a single web page per day that has Flash media had gone down from an estimated 80% during 2014 to below 8% in early 2018.

For more information about utilizing Office 365 features and other IT related concerns, feel free to get in touch with us today!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Little-known Windows 10 tips and tricks

Are you making the most out of your Windows 10 computer? If you haven’t tried adjusting system and battery performance, silenced notifications, or used the night light function, then you’re missing out on minor but useful features.

Performance/Power slider

There are two kinds of computer users: those who value battery longevity and those who prefer optimized system performance. The Performance/Power slider in Windows 10 lets you easily toggle between the ‘Best battery life’ (when you’re trying to save battery) and the ‘Best performance’ (when you need your system to perform optimally), or set a balanced battery and system performance setting.

Just click the battery icon in the taskbar and adjust the slider based on your preference.

Night Light

Those who use computers late at night can turn on Night Light to reduce the amount of blue light emitted from the screen. This feature substitutes the blue light with warmer colors, which reduces eye strain and helps you sleep easily.

Night Light is disabled by default, so you need to enable it by following these steps:

  • Click the Start Menu
  • Click the Settings app (or press WIN + I to quickly open Settings)
  • Click the System icon>Display
  • Set Night light to ‘On’ or ‘Off’

Taskbar pin

It takes only a few seconds to open a browser and type a website’s address or click Bookmarks and choose from a list of websites you frequently visit. But Windows 10 offers an even quicker way to access your go-to sites by allowing you to pin websites on the Windows 10 taskbar.

Simply click “Pin this page to the taskbar” on the Microsoft Edge menu, and the site’s icon will appear on the taskbar for easy perusal.

Drag to pin windows

Need to organize your screen but can’t help having many open windows? Reduce screen clutter by dragging any window to a corner so it can take a quarter of the screen. For multiple screens, drag a window to any border and wait for the prompt that tells you to put the window in the selected corner.

Focus Assist

Notifications can be distracting, but Windows 10’s Focus Assist feature can manage the notifications you receive from contacts and applications. This function also lets you customize the list of notifications you wish to prioritize.

To enable Focus Assist, go to:

  • Settings
  • System
  • Focus Assist
  • Adjust the notifications settings based on your preference

If you wish to disable it and receive all notifications, click ‘Off.’

The features we’ve included here are just some of the many Windows 10 functions that save time and add value to business-users’ lives. For more software and productivity recommendations, give our IT consultants a call today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Setting up your new laptop with Windows 10

First things first, what should you do with your brand new laptop? You go through the Windows 10 setup, and you’re all done, right? Not really. Your notebook isn’t ready — until you do some tweaking. Let’s get the ball rolling.

#1 Check for updates

Your new laptop should check for updates automatically, but you can also check manually. Just click the gear icon above the Start button to go to the Settings, choose Update & Security > Windows Update and then click the Check for updates button. (Or, just type “updates” into the search box and click Check for updates.)

#2 System restore

If something goes wrong with your laptop, you can save a lot of time and hassle if you have a “restore point,” which is like a backup of your entire operating system. To set up a restore point, search for “restore” from the taskbar and click Create a restore point. You’ll be taken to the System Protection tab of the System Properties window.

From there you can choose what you want to be included in the back and then click the Configure button. Select the radio dial to Turn on system protection if it’s not already on. And then you can choose how much disk space to reserve, usually no more than 2 or 3 percent.

#3 Power plan

If you want to prolong your laptop’s battery life, one of the best things you can do is switch the Power Saver, High Performance, and Balanced power plans based on your needs. To choose a plan, right click the battery icon in the lower-right corner of your screen and click Power settings. Next, click Additional power settings to select a power plan.

#4 App installation tolerance level

To restrict which apps can be installed on your laptop, you can disallow anything that isn’t in the Windows Store. Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features and you can choose whether to permit installations from only the Windows Store, any app installations (with a warning), or unrestricted app installations.

#5 Remove bloatware

Vendors package new laptops with lots of trial apps, which are mostly unnecessary and unwanted software called bloatware.

Windows 10 offers an easy way to see which apps are installed on your new laptop and a quick way to uninstall those you don’t want. Head to Settings > Apps > Apps & features and peruse the list. If you don’t want an app and are 100% certain your computer doesn’t need it, click the Uninstall button.

#6 Anti-ransomware

Ransomware is a form of malicious software (or malware) that makes all your data inaccessible until you pay a fee to hackers.

To combat it, type ‘Windows Defender Security Center’ into the search bar at the bottom of your screen, click it and go to Virus & threat protection > Virus & threat protection settings. Here, you’ll be able to enable a new option called Controlled folder access, which protects you against ransomware attacks. By default, the Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos folders are protected, but you can add others too.

Do you know what settings to change and update to optimize your laptop? This article barely scratches the surface of Window 10’s security and efficiency settings. Call us today for quick chat with one of our Microsoft experts about taking yours to the next level.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Windows 10 makes it easy to back up files

Businesses rely on computers for their daily operations, so getting afflicted by ransomware is devastating. It blocks access to all data, which can result in financial losses and the company closing down temporarily or permanently. Fortunately, Windows offers built-in tools and cloud storage options so you won’t have to fear data loss.

File History Is Back for Windows 10

Users would be glad to know that Windows brought the same functionality of File History from Windows 8 (and 8.1) to Windows 10. Apart from the slight design changes, there really isn’t much difference, which is fine.

Serving as the main backup utility, File History enables users to regularly schedule backing up of files on their PC and store them on an external drive. That means you can connect your PC to a network or USB drive and make backups as needed.

However, you must be sure to regularly connect the external drive if you opt to set File History to back up to it. Otherwise, Windows will prompt you that your files have not been backed up for every day that you forget. You can neglect this warning at your own risk. If you back up to a mapped network that is unavailable, File History will back up to the local disk, until the network drive becomes available.

Setting Up File History

Turning File History on is not rocket science. After all, it was designed to make data backup and recovery easy for users. By default, File History backs up the main file folders, but you may also pick which folders you want to back up and bring in folders from other parts of the PC to back up.

From the Start menu, click on Settings > select Update & Security > click on the Backup section

You will see an option for Back Up Using File History. Below it is an option to Add A Drive. Click on + to see a list of external hard drives connected to your PC and choose one.

When you return to the Backup section, you will see that the Add A Drive option has changed to Automatically Back Up My Files (by default). This allows backups to be created at periodic intervals, which you can set to anywhere from every 10 minutes to once a day (default option is once every hour). You may also set how long to keep the backups (default option is forever).

Restoring files that have already been backed up is just as easy. Simply click on the Start menu and type File History in the Search bar. Then, you will see the Restore Your Files With File History option. Select this, and a new window showing the folders backed up onto your external drives will appear. A word of advice: Be sure to back up files using a network drive or the cloud, not locally.

Making System Image Backups

Backing up your entire operating system, along with all the programs, settings, and files, is possible with Windows 10. To use this feature, you need to access the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) option from the Control Panel. Click on Create a System Image and choose where to store the backup (external hard drive, network drive, or DVD) and which drives to back up. You will then be asked to make a system repair disc which you can use to start a PC and restore the image backup.

Setting Up Your OneDrive Backup Option

Use OneDrive to store and sync your files in the public cloud. While it isn’t exactly a backup solution, OneDrive can serve as a destination for your backups. Microsoft offers plans ranging from at least 5 GB to 50 GB (monthly) and 1 TB (yearly) of storage space.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

OneNote excluded from Office 2019

Microsoft is pushing its users to use the UWP (Universal Windows Platform) app of OneNote which will be included in Microsoft Office 2019 and Office 365. This means the OneNote desktop app will no longer be packed with future versions of Office.

Microsoft’s OneNote desktop application is nearing the end of its journey, as the software giant will stop developing the product line past the 2016 edition. But don’t panic just yet, OneNote 2016 will share the same lifecycle as Microsoft Office 2016. The desktop app will receive security patches and updates until October 14, 2025.

Developers are directing their efforts to the Windows 10 OneNote app, where the switchover will be formal once Microsoft releases Office 2019. The current plan is to have Office 2019 in store shelves by the second half of 2018, and most of the features in OneNote 2016 have been added to the Windows 10 version.

What requested features will eventually make it to OneNote for Windows 10?

  • All of the features that can be used in OneNote 2016 add-ons will be built into the Windows 10 app to make an improved Class Notebook.
  • Edit and view files which allow users to collaborate on attached documents together. OneNote for Windows 10 will allow users to look at live previews of Microsoft Office files, and cloud files will help save space in the notebooks.
  • “Search and insert tags” which lets users search for, create and insert custom tags. The tags created in OneNote for Windows 10 will also be synced across other OneNote devices, and tags that other users made can be accessed in a shared notebook so you don’t have to make them again.

Users who are new to Microsoft Office 2019 or Office 365 can still install the OneNote 2016 application. The Windows 10 version and the 2016 version are still compatible until further notice.
Don’t hesitate to call us today for more information on how to keep your software up to date while securing your private data at the same time!

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Office 365: New security updates

Microsoft recently rolled out security updates to Office 365 for business and home users. These enhancements aim to increase safety when sending or receiving an email in Outlook, sharing links in OneDrive, and alerting users of possible malware infection.

Files Restore in OneDrive

Previously available only to Office 365 business users, Files Restore allows users to conveniently recover files in OneDrive within the last 30 days. Home and personal users can now easily retrieve and restore all their files at a specific point in time, which is useful in instances where files are accidentally deleted, corrupted, or compromised by ransomware or other malware.

Ransomware detection notification for Office 365

You receive notifications and alerts for a variety of things on your PC or mobile devices, but rarely for something as immensely important as a ransomware attack. Office 365’s ransomware detection and recovery feature sends desktop notifications, email alerts, and mobile alerts in case of any possible ransomware attack on your system so you can act fast.

Aside from being notified about a detected ransomware, you’ll also be guided on how to recover your files before they were infected, based on the timestamp recorded by Files Restore.

Password-protected link sharing in OneDrive

Whenever you share a link — whether to a file or folder — in OneDrive, there’s no guarantee that it won’t be shared to unauthorized users. A password-protected feature solves this dilemma by giving you an option to set and require a password for every file or folder you share.

Email encryption in Outlook

Intercepting email has become many cybercriminals’ preferred method of stealing critical information, so it’s more crucial than ever to ensure email safety. With Outlook’s end-to-end encryption, users can rest easy knowing that the email they send won’t be easily intercepted after all.

Email encryption works by requiring non-Outlook email recipients to choose between receiving a single-use passcode or re-authentication to open an email from an Outlook email sender. On the other hand, an Outlook-to-Outlook email exchange — whether Outlook on desktop, mobile (iOS and Android), or Windows Mail app — doesn’t require any further action for the email to be opened.

Prevent Forwarding

This function restricts email recipients (both Outlook and non-Outlook users) from forwarding or copying email. It also provides an option to prevent certain recipients from opening an attachment from a forwarded email, which will come in handy when a person needs to send an email to more than one recipient, but wants to restrict access to an attachment to just a few recipients.

These new capabilities greatly reduce the effort to secure your files and communications, and Microsoft is sure to roll out a few more soon. If you want to optimize these Office 365 security features or explore other productivity tools’ security features, call us today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The top 4 new features in the Windows 10 update

Microsoft has claimed that Windows 10 will be the final version of the world’s most popular operating system. Instead of bundling new features into a new Windows release, Microsoft has been issuing free updates to the current version since 2015. The latest update is almost here, and it comes with some exciting improvements.

Timeline

Replacing the Task Viewer icon that sits along the Windows taskbar, Timeline lets users view their desktop’s activity history. When users click the icon to the right of the search icon located on the taskbar, they will see all the applications that are currently open. Scroll down and Windows will display documents, photos, videos, and folders that are organized by when they were last used.

Can’t find the file you were working on last Wednesday? Scrolling to that date in Timeline will be the quickest way to track it down.

Nearby Sharing

This simple feature makes it much easier to transfer files between Windows devices. After enabling Nearby Sharing from the Control Panel, click the Share button in the Edge browser or Photos app and select the computer you want to receive the file. Users can also right-click any file and select Share. The computer receiving a file will display a notification for users to accept or decline the transfer. This means file transfers can finally take place without empty email messages, unreliable network folders, or beat-up USB drives.

Swift Pair

Want to make a call from your desktop with a pair of wireless headphones or test out a wireless keyboard? Just turn on a Bluetooth device within range of your desktop, and Windows 10 will automatically detect and notify you of the connection opportunity — all you need to do is click Connect.

Privacy

If you’re concerned about information being collected from your business’s computers, the brand new Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer will tell you everything you need to know. Users can now view what information Microsoft receives from their computer and fine-tune privacy settings related to browser history, connected devices, application usage, and webcam permissions.

Scheduling your update

It’s hard to know exactly when your Spring Creators Update will be ready to install, so it’s a good idea to brief your staff on how to minimize business interruptions that the update might cause. Windows 10 updates can be installed immediately, “Snoozed,” or rescheduled, so start thinking about which would be best for your office.

Beyond these impressive new features, Microsoft’s updates come with invaluable security protections. If you’re having trouble keeping your Windows devices secure and running smoothly, give us a call today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.