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Microsoft IIS: Disabling the SSL v3 Protocol

 

Depending on how your Windows servers are configured, you may need to disable SSL v3.

Note that older versions of Internet Explorer may not have the TLS protocol enabled by default. If you disable SSL versions 2.0 and 3.0, the older versions of Internet Explorer will need to enable the TLS protocol before they can connect to your site.

For a Simpler Way to Disable the SSL v3 Protocol:

DigiCert is not responsible for any complications or problems if you decide to use this .zip file to disable the SSL v3 protocol on your server.

  1. Log into your server as a user with Administrator privileges.
  2. Download DisableSSL3.zip, extract the .zip file contents, and then double-click DisableSSL3.reg.
  3. In the Registry Editor caution window, click Yes.
  4. Restart server.

If you prefer to do it yourself, follow the steps in the instruction below.

Microsoft IIS: How to Disable the SSL v3 Protocol

  1. Open the Registry Editor and run it as administrator.For example, in Windows 2012:
    1. On the Start screen type regedit.exe.
    2. Right-click on regedit.exe and click Run as administrator.
  2. In the Registry Editor window, go to:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SecurityProviders\Schannel\Protocols\
  3. In the navigation tree, right-click on Protocols, and in the pop-up menu, click New > Key.
  4. Name the key, SSL 3.0.
  5. In the navigation tree, right-click on the new SSL 3.0 key that you just created, and in the pop-up menu, click New > Key.
  6. Name the key, Client.
  7. In the navigation tree, right-click on the new SSL 3.0 key again, and in the pop-up menu, click New > Key.
  8. Name the key, Server.
  9. In the navigation tree, under SSL 3.0, right-click on Client, and in the pop-up menu, click New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  10. Name the value DisabledByDefault.
  11. In the navigation tree, under SSL 3.0, select Client and then, in the right pane, double-click the DisabledByDefault DWORD value.Windows Registry Key
  12. In the Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window, in the Value Data box change the value to 1 and then, click OK.
  13. In the navigation tree, under SSL 3.0, right-click on Server, and in the pop-up menu, click New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  14. Name the value Enabled.
  15. In the navigation tree, under SSL 3.0, select Server and then, in the right pane, double-click the Enabled DWORD value.
  16. In the Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value window, in the Value Data box leave the value at 0 and then, click OK.
  17. Restart your Windows server.You have successfully disabled the SSL v3 protocol.

For instructions about disabling browser support for the SSL v3 protocol, see Disabling Browser Support for the SSL 3.0.

 

South Jersey’s New Area Code Explained


“A New South Jersey area code is being introduced to the (609) area code region and it will affect dialing procedures”, Julia Marnin, Cherry Hill Courier-Post

The new area code (640) is being introduced to the (609) area code region in South Jersey and it will affect how local residents dial calls.

The new dialing procedures will be in effect on August 18th.

New phone lines will begin to be issued the area code (640) on September 17th.

Hillary Clinton Email Server: 6 Facts

Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server when she served as US secretary of state has been a major issue for the 2016 presidential candidate. Here are the six most critical facts about it.

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The FBI recently wrapped up its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server while she was serving as secretary of state. FBI director James Comey called the actions “extremely careless,” but recommended that no charges be brought against Clinton.

She is now the presumptive Democratic nominee for the upcoming presidential election in November, and her actions relative to the email server have become a hot-button issue among her opponents. The situation, however, is nuanced; and there are a lot of details to understand about the scenario. Here are the most important facts.

1. What happened?

While serving as secretary of state under President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton used multiple private email servers to communicate regarding government business, according to the State Department. Additionally, it was revealed that Clinton never had a government (.gov) email address while she was serving in her post—we’ll talk about which email address she used in a moment—and her aides did not take any actions to preserve the emails sent through her personal account. This prompted an investigation by the FBI to determine if Clinton intentionally put classified information at risk.

2. Why does it matter?

Clinton handed over 30,000 emails to the State Department, of which 110 contained classified information at the time they either were sent or received, according to the FBI’s findings. During the investigation, though, Clinton asserted that none of the emails she sent or received were classified at the time. The biggest implication has been the potential threat to national security. While the contents of the emails have not fully been released, if they had contained sensitive information it could have possibly fallen into the wrong hands. As noted by the New York Times, Comey said it was “possible” that enemy foreign governments had accessed Clinton’s personal email account.

The second biggest implication is that of transparency. The Federal Records Act requires that all communication in certain branches of government be recorded on government servers, and it forbids the use of a personal email account for government business, unless those emails are then copied and archived. However, there are a lot of technicalities involved, and there is evidence that other government officials had violated the act. As Alex Howardwrote for the Sunlight Foundation, there is also evidence that Clinton tried to control the discoverability of the emails under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which could set a precedent for limiting public access to government records. It is also believed that Clinton deleted 31,000 emails deemed personal in nature before turning the emails over to the State Department.

3. When did it start?

When she was appointed secretary of state in 2009, Clinton began using the email address hdr22@clintonmail.com, tied to a personal server. Clinton’s personal email server was first discovered in 2012, by a House committee investigating the attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi. In 2013, hacker Guccifer claimed to have accessed Clinton’s personal email account and released emails that were allegedly related to the Benghazi attack.

The next year, in the summer of 2015, the State Department began asking Clinton for her emails correspondence, and she responded by delivering boxes containing more than 30,000 printed emails. In early 2015, the New York Times reported that Clinton had been using her personal email exclusively, and never had a government email address. A federal watchdog group issued an 83-page report condemning the “systemic weaknesses” of Clinton’s email practices in May. On Tuesday, the FBI concluded its investigation and recommended against any charges.

4. What tech was used

When Clinton was running for president in 2008, she had a private server installed at her home in Chappaqua, New York. The domains clintonemail.com, wjcoffice.com, and presidentclinton.com, which were registered to a man named Eric Hoteham, all pointed to that server. In 2013, a Denver-based IT company called Platte River Networks was hired to manage the server, but wasn’t cleared to work with classified information. The company executivesreceived death threats for taking on the contract. It was later discovered that multiple private servers were used for Clinton’s email.

Clinton used a BlackBerry phone to communicate during her tenure as secretary of state, including sending and receiving emails through her private server in New York. The State Department expressed concern about the security of the device. Clinton had requested the NSA provide a strengthened BlackBerry, similar to the one used by President Obama. But, her request was denied. Instead, the NSA requested that Clinton use a secure Windows Phone known as the Sectera Edge, but she opted to continue using her personal BlackBerry.

5. Will she be prosecuted?

Right now, it’s too early to tell whether or not Clinton will be charged for her use of private email servers. While Comey’s recommendation that no charges be brought will likely weigh in the decision, it is ultimately up to the US Department of Justice to make the call. However, a recent Politico analysis of multiple, similar cases spanning the past 20 years, seem to point to an indictment being “highly unlikely.” According to a former senior FBI official quoted in the analysis, the Justice Department tends to avoid prosecution in cases that are not “clear-cut.”

6. What can businesses and IT leaders learn?

The first lesson that IT can learn from this situation is that transparency is critical, at all levels in your business. This isn’t to say that the CEO should be broadcasting his or her emails to all employees every week, but steps should be taken to ensure that information can be accessed if need be. As part of adigital leak protection program, security expert John Pironti said that organizations need to know if users are using a personal email account to conduct business.

“This behavior is often a violation of acceptable use policies and can expose an organization’s sensitive information to unsecured systems and e-mail accounts,” Pironti said. “Without this visibility an organization may not be aware that their intellectual property, customer data, or sensitive data assets are not being protected appropriately and they also may be in violation of contractual agreements with their clients regarding the security of their data as well as regulatory requirements.”

The second takeaway for IT is that policies should be enforced from the top down. Sure, a CXO may get their support tickets expedited, but that doesn’t mean that exceptions should be made that could compromise the security or integrity of the organization for the sake of comfort or convenience. Leaders should model the policies that are in place to showcase the importance of adhering to them, especially regarding security and privacy policies.

Finally, the importance of records management should not be overlooked. In Clinton’s case, since multiple servers were used, the FBI had to piece together “millions of email fragments” before they could look into them. Proper labeling and management of all records will make for a more cohesive environment and assist in accountability.

Have questions?

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Hacker Steals 272M Emails & Passwords

Security firm announces it has persuaded fraudster to give up database of email addresses along with passwords users use to log in to websites

hacking gmail

The internet on Wednesday gave you another reminder that everyone has been hacked.

Hold Security, a Wisconsin-based security firm famous for obtaining hoards of stolen data from the hacking underworld, announced that it had persuaded a fraudster to give them a database of 272m unique email addresses along with the passwords consumers use to log in to websites. The escapade was detailed in a Reuters article.

It might sound bad, but it is also easily mitigated.

The passwords and email addresses, which include some from Gmail, Yahoo and Russia’s mail.ru service, aren’t necessarily the keys to millions of email accounts. Rather, they had been taken from various smaller, less secure websites where people use their email addresses along with a password to log in.

People who use a different password for both their email account and, say, Target.com, won’t be affected. But those who tend to use the same password for multiple sites as well as their email should change their email password.

“Some people use one key for everything in their house,” Hold Security founder Alex Holden says. “Some people have a huge set of keys that they use for each door individually.”

Holden said there is no way for consumers to check if their emails were included in his firm’s latest find. In 2014, when his firm tried to set up such a service after obtaining a billion hacked login credentials, his site crashed.

The hacker appears to have been largely targeting Russian users. Some 57m of the email addresses were for the country’s largest email provider mail.ru, which claims 100 million monthly users. Around 40m of the addresses were Yahoo Mail, 33m Hotmail and 24m for Google’s Gmail service.

In this case, the hacker had been bragging on internet chat forums that he had a treasure trove of login credentials that he was trying to sell. Holden, who is fluent in Russian, said he wouldn’t pay for the data but would give him “likes” on various social media posts in exchange.

The hacker, who apparently is quite young, agreed. “We kind of call him the collector,” Holden says in a heavy Russian accent. “Eventually, almost everyone gets breached.”

Have questions?

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South Jersey Techies, LL C is a full Managed Web and Technology Services Company providing IT Services, Website Design Services, Server Support, Network Consulting, Internet Phones, Cloud Solutions Provider and much more. Contact for More Information.

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Google vs Microsoft: Office 365 Battle?

Microsoft Office 365 has taken market share from Google Apps and Google isn’t taking it lying down. Are we looking at the start of a price war?

Google apps vs Microsoft

According to an August 2015 report, Microsoft Office 365 has surpassed Google Apps and now controls more than 25% of the enterprise market—triple the enterprise market share the company held just a year ago. That is some serious growth and it hasn’t gone unnoticed by the folks at Alphabet (aka Google).

Details

On October 19, 2015, Rich Rao, head of global sales for Google Apps for Work announced a new program specifically designed to turn the tide against Microsoft Office 365’s advance.

In a nutshell, enterprises with preexisting contracts for a competitor’s office suite (read Office 365) looking to switch to Google Apps can do so and not pay any additional fees until the competitor’s contract has run its course. In essence, switching enterprises will pay Microsoft’s contract while they use Google Apps.

When the preexisting contract is over, enterprises sign a new contract with Google Apps. The announcement also suggests that Google will pay some of the transition costs through a special program offered by its Google for Work Partners service.

This is a bold move by Google and it signals that the company is reeling from the sudden surge of Microsoft Office 365. I don’t think Google was expecting this level of competition for its Google Apps suite.

Microsoft’s response

The ball is now in Microsoft’s court. There should be some kind of serious strategic response offered by Microsoft—that is, if it intends to maintain the growth of Office 365 in the enterprise market. Letting the tremendous advances in its market share over the last year erode would be irresponsible.

One strategy Microsoft may consider is lower subscription prices.

The basic enterprise version of Google Apps carries a subscription price of $5 per user. The basic enterprise version of Office 365 carries a subscription price of $8 per user. That $3 difference can really add up for a large enterprise and there may be some wiggle room for Microsoft to lower the per-user price for its service.

Cola wars. Pizza wars. We have seen major international companies take part in price wars in the past, and in the end, not much has been resolved. So I don’t think lowering their subscription prices is really the best strategy for Microsoft.

There is another way.

It’s all about collaboration

The basic applications offered by Office 365 and Google Apps—word processing, spreadsheets, emails, calendar, etc.—are similar. Office 365’s applications do have more features and deeper capabilities. Of course, Google Apps claims its lack of features is a good thing because its apps are simpler to use.

However, in this day and age, the real battleground for enterprise markets exists in features outside the basic office suite. The real battleground lies in cloud and collaboration services, including collaboration tools, storage, video communication, and document sharing. The cloud is where Microsoft and Google are going to fight their battle for productivity suite superiority.

And cloud is where Microsoft has been winning handily for the past year or so. I believe the new cloud and collaboration emphasis of Office 365 has taken Google by surprise. I think Google has realized that Microsoft has upped its game and that it can’t coast into increased enterprise market share by merely offering a lower-price, simpler productivity suite.

It may have been an indirect battle before, but Microsoft and Google are now engaged in a mano a mano fight for enterprise market share in the productivity software category. It will be interesting to see how this strategic battle between two superpowers plays out. I just hope each side takes appropriate steps to avoid collateral damage.

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BigBeagle.com: Save 15% Today

This is your chance to stock up on everything you need.  Save 15% on new web products. Offer expires November 30, 2014 at midnight (Mountain Time).

 

save 15

 

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Surface Studio, Win10 Creators & More

Microsoft announced a slew of new goodies at its Windows event in New York. Catch up on everything from the Surface Studio all-in-one to the Windows 10 Creators Update here.

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One Windows

Microsoft’s big event in New York on Tuesday included plenty of new Surface hardware, but nevertheless, it’s easy to see why the company called this a Windows event rather than a Surface shindig.

Windows and devices chief Terry Myerson kicked things off with a tantalizing glimpse of the features that will debut with the new Windows 10 Creators Update, scheduled to release in the spring. The rest of event was dedicated to new Surface gear designed specifically to marry powerful, thoughtful hardware with the best of those new software features. But don’t take my word for it! Here’s everything Microsoft announced at its October 26 Windows event.

 

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Windows 10 Creators Update

As I said, the freshly revealed Windows 10 Creators Update, scheduled to arrive in early 2017, kicked off the show. The update’s built around three key pillars: the creation and manipulation of 3D content, sharing your Xbox Live gaming experiences, and easily communicating with others—hence the name.

 

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Surface Studio

Microsoft’s first-ever desktop PC is the paragon for all those Windows ideals. The Surface Studio all-in-one mixes stunning physical design and impressive internal hardware, focused on creating the best experience possible for professionals and content creators. From an ultra-slim 4,500×3,000-resolution screen with “True Scale” 1:1 image recreation, to the ability to lay at a 20-degree angle for natural positioning while sketching, to the 6th-gen (Skylake) Core i7 CPU and Nvidia GPU powering it all, the Surface Studio is laser-focused on helping you get things done. (And showing off Windows in the best possible light, naturally.)

These tidbits are just the tip of the iceberg. If you like what you see, the Surface Studio starts at $3,000 and is available for preorder now.

 

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Surface Dial

The Surface Studio’s content-friendly design and Windows 10’s new content creation tools are amplified by the Surface Dial, a radical puck that can control Microsoft’s new PC. It’s primarily designed to work in conjunction with Microsoft’s Surface Pen. Priced at $100, you can preorder it now.

The Surface Dial doesn’t have any buttons of its own. Instead, using it reveals an interface wheel customized for specific applications, with selections occurring as you twist the device back and forth. You may cycle through tool-tip brushes in an image editing app, for instance, or rewind and fast-forward through written notes in Office. A virtual version of the Dial appears even if you don’t place the puck directly onscreen, letting you zoom, scroll, and adjust various options like screen brightness and volume. Mark Hachman’s Surface Dial hands-on explains it all.

Support for the Surface Dial will be baked right into Windows 10, and the accessory will be compatible with the existing Surface Pro 3, Surface Pro 4, and Surface Book.

 

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Surface Book i7

Handily enough, Microsoft also revealed a newer, more powerful version of the Surface Book, the aptly named Surface Book i7. The Surface Book i7 swaps in a sixth-gen Skylake Intel Core i7 processor and an Nvidia GTX 965M GPU to deliver twice the power of the most potent original Surface Book, and (Microsoft claims) three times the power of the beefiest 13-inch MacBook Pro—though Apple’s expected to roll out new Macs tomorrow.

Microsoft also managed to up the Surface Book i7’s battery life to a claimed 15 hours, despite the additional firepower, thanks to a redesigned cooling system and, well, more batteries. The Surface Book i7 starts at $2,400 and is available to preorder now.

 

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Paint 3D

Windows’ venerable Paint app is being dragged into the 21st century. The Windows 10 Creators Update adds Paint 3D, a Windows Store app designed from the ground up to create 3D images even out of 2D pictures.

Paint 3D includes numerous tools for editing three-dimensional images. It also integrates with a new Windows 10 3D-scanning app dubbed Windows Capture 3D, which allows you to digitize real-world objects. Microsoft plans to introduce a “community” hub on Remix3D.com for shared 3D images, plus it’ll let you drag your creations out of Minecraft. Microsoft Office applications will also support 3D images after the Windows 10 Creators Update rolls out.

You have to wonder how many non-professionals are interested in 3D image creation, but there’s no doubting that Paint 3D looks mighty nifty—and like a perfect match for the Surface Studio and Surface Dial’s capabilities.

 

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Windows Holographic VR headsets

You’ll be able to view those 3D creations through Microsoft’s own HoloLens, or via an onslaught of Windows Holographic-compatible VR headsets apparently coming from Dell, HP, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer.

“These headsets will be the first and only to ship with inside-out, six-degree-of-freedom sensors,” said Microsoft’s Terry Myerson. “Unlike every other VR headset on the market today, this means there will be zero need for a separate room. Zero need for a complicated setup.”

 

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My People

Microsoft wants to make your friends the center of your Windows experience with My People, a feature that borrows from Android and iOS. In the Creators Update, five important contacts will appear as profile images in your taskbar. You’ll be able to drop files onto these contacts to immediately share items, or click the contact to interact in a specific app like Mail, Skype, SMS, or Xbox Live. Handy!

 

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Live PC game streaming

Microsoft’s muscling in on Twitch. The Windows 10 Creators Update adds the ability to easily start broadcasting your Xbox Live games via the operating system’s Game DVR toolbar, sending notifications out to your pals and fellow club members to let them know when you’re online. Once they hop into your stream they’ll be able to chat with you, as with every other streaming service out there.

The service is powered by Microsoft’s recent Beam acquisition and looks dead-simple to use. It’s easy to envision Windows 10 Game DVR livestreaming becoming popular on consoles, but Microsoft faces an uphill battle on PCs, where Twitch and tools like Nvidia Shadowplay and OBS already enjoy massive, entrenched user bases.

 

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Custom tournaments and fancy audio

Microsoft’s tying console and PC users closer together with custom tournaments powered by Xbox Live’s Arena platform. Next year, you’ll be able to create your own custom gaming tournaments, controlling everything from the games, to the rules, to the players, to the start times. Previously, Area tournaments were only created by Microsoft and its official partners.

The Xbox One S, which is itself powered by Windows 10, is adding support for bitstreaming Blu-ray audio pass-through and Dolby Atmos. Soon, those 4K videos and games will sound just as glorious as they look.

 

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Surface Mouse and keyboards

The niche Surface Dial isn’t the only Studio peripheral Microsoft announced today, though none of the others made it onto the stage during the big event. Microsoft quietly launched a Surface Mouse and a pair of desktop Surface keyboards—one standard, the other ergonomic—to complement its premium all-in-one PC. All three match the gray aesthetic of Microsoft first-ever desktop PC. The Surface Studio includes a Surface Mouse and basic Surface Keyboard, however.

You can preorder all three on Microsoft’s Surface accessories page, with shipments scheduled for early November.

Have questions?

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End of Support: Server 2003

end windows server 2003

 

A large number of businesses still run Microsoft MSFT -1.71% Windows Server 2003 and it’s unlikely they all will upgrade before Microsoft Corp. ends support on July 14, 2015, say analysts. Companies that don’t upgrade increase their cyber security risks because the company will no longer issue security updates and these systems will be more vulnerable to hackers.

Businesses worldwide run an estimated 23.8 million physical and virtual instances of Windows Server 2003, according to data released by Microsoft in July 2014. Analysts say the technology is more prevalent in industries such as health care, utilities and government. Yet it’s also still used in about 7% of retail point of sale systems, according to a report Thursday by Trend Micro Inc.4704.TO -1.11%

“Microsoft does not plan to extend support for Windows Server 2003 and encourages customers who currently run Windows Server 2003 and have not yet begun migration planning to do so immediately,” said Vivecka Budden, a Microsoft spokesperson, in an email.

South Jersey Techies offers various migration options to include Windows Server 2012 R2, Microsoft Azure, hosting partners and Office 365.

“It is going to be difficult to get this done in time,” said David Mayer, practice director of Microsoft Solutions at Insight Enterprises Inc.NSIT -1.12%, a provider of IT hardware, software and services.

Many of these same industries were impacted by the end of service for the Windows XP operating system on April 8.  Microsoft broadcasts these sorts of moves years in advance, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. But, the product was stable and for many companies there simply wasn’t incentive to update.

“In general, everyone has been slow to migrate, especially those with servers that are running applications,” said Rob Helm, vice president of research at Directions on Microsoft consulting firm.

The problem in industries such as health care and utilities is that companies run legacy apps written by vendors who still require Windows Server 2003. For example, there are smaller vendors in health care that have not kept up with development and application modernization, said a health-care CIO who asked not to be identified. A hospital may have an inventory of 100 to 500 different applications and many applications will still require Windows Server 2003, he added.

Electric utilities, for example, widely use Windows Server 2003. There hasn’t been much movement to upgrade those systems, said Patrick C. Miller, founder of the nonprofit Energy Sector Security Consortium and a managing partner at The Anfield Group, a security consulting firm. Instead, utilities are working to better secure and isolate those systems.

“I’m concerned about directory services such as application authentication and user permissions,” said Mr. Miller. “If you compromise an Active Directory server, you get access to everything.”

For now, analysts are recommending that companies work out their risk of exposure and make plans to first migrate those applications that will be most difficult. Companies should make plans to harden servers that can’t be updated. That might entail putting those systems on an isolated network, where they’d be less prone to outside attack, said Mr. Helm.

To protect and upgrade your home or business

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Mac Office 2011 Support Ends Oct 10

End of support is sneaking up on enterprise employees running Office on a Mac

Companies that have employees running Office for Mac 2011 have just over 100 days to replace the suite’s applications with those from last year’s upgrade, Office for Mac 2016.

Support ends for Office for Mac 2011 on Oct. 10, a date that Microsoft first stamped on the calendar two years ago, but has not widely publicized since. As of that date, the Redmond, Wash., developer will cease supplying patches for security vulnerabilities or fixes for other bugs.

The individual applications — Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Word — will continue to operate after support ends, but companies will be taking a risk, however small, that malware exploiting an unpatched flaw will surface and compromise systems.

To receive security and non-security updates after Oct. 10, IT administrators must deploy Office for Mac 2016 or instruct workers covered by Office 365 to download and install the newer suite’s applications from the subscription service’s portal.

Office for Mac 2011’s end-of-support deadline was originally slated for January 2016, approximately five years after the productivity package’s release. But in the summer of 2015, when it was clear that 2011’s successor would not be ready by early 2016, Microsoft extended its lifespan by 21 months. At the time, Microsoft cited the long-standing policy of supporting a to-be-retired product for “2 years after the successor product is released” when it added time to 2011.

Mac users: Steerage Class

The impending cutoff for Office for Mac 2011 is an issue only because Microsoft shortchanges Office for Mac users. Unlike the Windows version of Office, which receives 10 years of security support, those that run on macOS are allotted half that. Microsoft has repeatedly classified Office for Mac as a consumer product to justify the half-measure, even for the edition labeled “Home and Business.”

Nor does Microsoft update and service Office for Mac for corporate customers as it does the far more popular Windows SKU (stock-keeping unit). The latter will be upgraded with new features, Microsoft said in April, twice each year for enterprise subscribers to Office 365 ProPlus, with each release supported for 18 months before giving way to a pair of successors.

Mac editions, however, are refreshed with new tools at irregular intervals, often long after the same feature debuts in the same Windows application. (Recently, for example, Microsoft added a delivery-and/or-read receipt option to the Mac version of Outlook; that functionality has been in Outlook on Windows since 2013.) And because there are no regular, large-scale feature upgrades to Office for Mac, support is not curtailed by the release schedule as with Windows.

The difference between Offices — the behemoth Windows on one side, the niche Mac on the other — has been put into even starker relief recently: Microsoft has adopted March and September dates for launching new upgrades to Windows 10, Office 365 ProPlus, and last week, Windows Server, but made no similar promises for Office for Mac 2016.

It’s clearly the odd app out.

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Microsoft Dictate Lets You Type by Voice

Dictate with your voice in Office

This feature is available to Office 365 Subscribers only.

 

Dictate in Word or PowerPoint

1) Turn on your microphone and make sure it works. Troubleshoot microphone settings

2) In Word 2016 or PowerPoint 2016, select Home > Dictate.

3) Wait for the icon to turn red.

4) Start talking. As you talk, text appears in your document or slide.

5) Speak clearly and conversationally. Insert punctuation by saying the name of the punctuation mark you want to add.

6) If you make a mistake while dictating, move your cursor to the mistake and fix it with your keyboard. No need to turn off the microphone.

7) When finished, select Dictate again to stop typing.

 

Dictate in Outlook

1) Turn on your microphone and make sure it works. Troubleshoot microphone settings

2) Open a new email message and select Message > Dictate.

3) Wait for the icon to turn red.

4) Start talking. As you talk, text appears in your email message.

5) Speak clearly and conversationally. Insert punctuation, by saying the name of the punctuation mark you want to add.

6) If you make a mistake while dictating, move your cursor to the mistake and fix it with your keyboard. No need to turn off the microphone.

7) When finished, select Dictate again to stop typing.

 

Troubleshooting

I don’t see Dictate, or it’s not working

If Dictate isn’t working, make sure you’re connected to the Internet.

You can enable or disable Dictate by going to File > Options and look for Office intelligent services on the General tab.

 

Important information about Dictate

Dictate is one of the Office Intelligent Services, bringing the power of the cloud to Office apps to help save you time and produce better results.

Your speech utterances will be sent to Microsoft to provide you with this service, and may also be used to improve speech recognition services. For more information see, What are Intelligent Services?

Office Dictate is not HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant.

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