Category: Quick Reference Guides

Quick Reference Guides Category

Office 365: New capabilities for iPad and iPhone

New features make Office and OneDrive the best place to work on iPad and iPhone

More and more, people around the world are working on the go, changing locations and devices as they create and collaborate with others throughout their day. As they work across their PCs, Macs and mobile devices, they expect an uncompromising experience that is familiar yet optimized for the device they are using.

Microsoft is committed to providing best in class experiences on all devices, and today, we are proud to share with you a set of new Office capabilities across Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneDrive on iOS that will delight and make iPad and iPhone users more productive than ever before.

Real-time co-authoring in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iOS – We live in a world where we’re often collaborating with multiple people in different locations and Office 365 provides the broadest and deepest toolkit for collaboration between individuals, teams, and entire organizations. Using real-time co-authoring, colleagues, friends, and family can contribute to and edit documents simultaneously in the Word, Excel and PowerPoint iOS apps. This allows you to know who else is working with you in a document, see where they’re working, and view changes automatically within seconds. The co-authoring experiences are also available in Office Online and the latest versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint on the PC and Mac, all made possible by storing your documents in OneDrive or SharePoint.

Drag and drop files anywhere with OneDrive – Sometimes your files can get scattered between different folders or even services and applications. Now it’s easier than ever to organize and rearrange your files. You can drag files in between folders in OneDrive and, if your teammates use SharePoint to work together, you can even drag OneDrive files to a SharePoint site giving them immediate access. On iPad, you can also drag files from other apps, such as iMessage, into your OneDrive and drag files out of your OneDrive to other apps.

Drag and drop content between Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneDrive on iPad – One of the most common and powerful tasks when creating content is pulling in text, photos, graphs, and other objects from different sources. Now you can pull in content with ease on your iPad with drag and drop support in Office and OneDrive. Easily drag and drop objects from OneDrive or from one Office app to another.

OneDrive Files app support – Today we’re also announcing native support for the Files app in iOS 11. OneDrive integration with the Files app allows you to access, upload, edit, and save your content to OneDrive or SharePoint from apps that support Files app integration. You can also tag and favorite your OneDrive and SharePoint files from within the Files app.

OneDrive redesigned to find the files that matter – The OneDrive iOS app has been redesigned from the ground up with a new layout that uses your screen space more efficiently allowing you to find your files faster. It’s easier to scan across file names, see the information that matters to you, and sort files how you want. New metadata is visible in the list view, so you can easily identify new files and files that have been shared.

Universal link support for shared files – Being able to seamlessly share and securely access files is essential for teamwork. Previously when you received a link to a shared file, you would be directed to a browser and prompted to re-authenticate. Today, we are announcing universal link support, which will open the document directly in the Word, Excel, or PowerPoint iOS apps. Further, if you don’t have a supporting application for the file, you’ll be directed to the OneDrive app to preview the file.

Preview 130+ file types in your OneDrive app – You and the people you work with use a variety of different file formats, but when you’re on your mobile device you might not have access to the native applications for those files. Now, the OneDrive iOS app creates crisp thumbnails and supports large previews of over 130 file types, including Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, RAW, 3D objects, and high-precision DICOM images. OneDrive lets you open, view, and share all of your files without leaving the app.

New accessibility features for Word, Excel and PowerPoint on iOS 11
The VoiceOver rotor in iOS improves navigation and the accessibility of content. For example, you can use the built-in rotor on iOS to navigate line-by-line or word-by-word and change the speed at which VoiceOver speaks. The new Office-specific rotors also let people with vision impairments navigate more efficiently in Word across tables and links, slides in PowerPoint, and sheets in Excel.

Users can also leverage larger text options in accessibility settings to modify the text size in the core Office apps. Visit the support pages for Excel, Word, and PowerPoint to learn more.

You can use take advantage of these new capabilities in the coming days by updating the Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneDrive apps in the Apple App Store.

Microsoft finally retired Windows 10 1511

The company also ended support for 1607 to users of Windows 10 Home and Pro.

Microsoft finally retired a 2015 version of Windows 10, marking 29 months of support for the untitled feature upgrade, nearly as long a stretch as the time between the releases of Windows 8 and Windows 10.

Windows 10 1511 – Microsoft labels its feature upgrades in a yymm format – received a final set of security patches on April 10.

The retirement date had originally been slated for Oct. 10, 2017, but last November Microsoft extended it an additional six months, albeit only for commercial customers. “To help some early enterprise adopters that are still finishing their transition to Windows as a service, we will be providing a supplemental servicing package for Windows 10, version 1511, for an additional six months, until April 2018,” Michael Niehaus, at the time a director of product marketing for Windows, said in a 2017 post to a company blog.

Customers running Windows 10 Enterprise or Windows 10 Education were given the support reprieve; those operating lesser SKUs (stock-keeping units), including Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro, had their support curtailed last October.

Earlier this year, Microsoft added six months of support to all versions of Enterprise and Education, raising the support roof from 18 months to 24 for not only 1511, but also for 1607, 1703 and 1709. The less expensive, less expansive, Home and Pro, however, retained the 18-month support timeline.

Also destined for an April 10 retirement party was Windows 10 1607, the mid-2016 feature upgrade that received its last security patches that day on Windows 10 Home and Windows 10 Pro. Meanwhile, version 1607 on Enterprise and Education will continue receiving fixes until Oct. 9.

Windows 10’s bifurcated support timelines – 18 months for some SKUs, 24 months for others – complicate what had been an easy-to-understand practice of patching versions for a year and a half. Period.

Microsoft has tried to inform customers of the support due them by reminding them in January’s and February’s cumulative updates that patches end for Enterprise and Education, version 1511. “The additional servicing offer for Windows 10, version 1511 ends on April 10, 2018, and doesn’t extend beyond this date. To continue receiving security and quality updates, Microsoft recommends updating to the latest version of Windows 10,” the March documentation said.

The company has extended the lifespan of other software previously, including the original version of Windows 10, tagged as 1507. In February 2017, it added six weeks to the timetable. Generally, however, Microsoft has been hard-nosed about support deadlines, and for good reason.

“The danger is that customers won’t believe Microsoft will end support when they say [they will],” said Gartner analyst Michael Silver in a 2017 interview. “It would set a bad precedent if organizations think that they can rely on Microsoft to constantly extend [support].”

By hewing to the once-revised deadline for 1511, Microsoft had drawn a line in the sand, showing commercial customers that while it may bend to their demands, it will not break with critical policies, like these, which are foundation to its Windows-as-a-service concept.

Set Up Microsoft Exchange E-Mail on iPhone

Set Up Microsoft Exchange E-Mail on an Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

You can set up Exchange e-mail on an Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. When you set up an Exchange account on your device, you’ll be able to access and synchronize your e-mail, calendar, and contacts. If you have a different device, or if you want to connect using POP or IMAP.

How do I set up Microsoft Exchange e-mail on an Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch?

Tap Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account.
Tap Microsoft Exchange.
You don’t need to enter anything in the Domain box. Enter the information requested in the Email,Username, and Password boxes. You need to enter your full e-mail address in the Email and Usernameboxes (for example, tony@contoso.com).
Tap Next on the upper-right corner of the screen. Your iPhone will try to find the settings it needs to set up your account. Go to step 7 if your iPhone finds your settings.
If your iPhone can’t find your settings, you’ll need to manually look up your Exchange ActiveSync server name. For instructions for how to determine your Exchange ActiveSync server name, see the Finding My Server Name section below.
In the Server box, enter your server name, and then tap Next.

Choose the type of information you want to synchronize between your account and your device, and then touch Save. By default, Mail, Contacts, and Calendar information are synchronized.

Caution:
If you’re prompted to create a passcode, tap Continue and enter a numeric passcode. If you don’t set up a passcode, you can’t view your e-mail account on your iPhone. You can set up a passcode later in iPhone Settings.

Finding My Server Name

If your email program isn’t able to automatically find your Exchange ActiveSync server name, you may need to look it up.

Sign in to your e-mail account using Outlook Web App. For help signing in, see How to Sign In to Outlook Web App.
If you’re connecting to an Exchange mailbox, your Exchange ActiveSync server name is contained in the address bar in your browser when you are signed in to Outlook Web App, but without the leadinghttps:// and without the trailing /owa. For example, if the address you use to access Outlook Web App is https://mail.contoso.com/owa, your Exchange ActiveSync server name is mail.contoso.com.
If you’re unable to connect to your mailbox using the information earlier in this section, you can try using the server name value that you can view in Outlook Web App options. Do the following:
1. In Outlook Web App, click Options > See All Options > Account > My Account > Settings for POP, IMAP, and SMTP access.
  
  Note:
  
  Although you’re not setting up a POP3 account, you will use this value to determine your Exchange ActiveSync server name.
2. Under POP setting, view the value for Server name.
3. Try setting up your email using the server name listed on your options page. For example if the value for Server name under POP setting is mail.contoso.com, try using mail.contoso.com as your Exchange server name.

Note:
Although you’re not setting up a POP3 account, you will use this value to determine your Exchange ActiveSync server name.

What else do I need to know?

If you’re prompted to create a passcode and don’t create one, you won’t be able to send and receive e-mail.

Top Smartphones for 2013 Holiday Season

iPhone 5s

The iPhone 5S was launched with iOS7. The updated camera with iPhone 5S has become popular against competitors. Also, the iOS 7 includes many new features including fingerprint identification on the home button, control center, multitasking, enhanced Siri and many more.

The iPhone 5S is available with all major carriers. Contract prices are $199-399 or without Contract prices are $649-$849.

HTC One

The HTC One runs Android 4.3, a quad-core processor, 2 GB of RAM, 1080p LCD displays and an ultra mega pixel camera. The most popular feature with HTC One is the front facing speakers and dual microphones.

The HTC One is available with all major carriers. Contract prices are as low as $50 or without Contract price is $550.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is the most prevailing Android device on the market. The Galaxy Note 3 includes many features, such as, the S Pen, 13 mega pixel camera (rear), microSD storage, a removable battery, LTE and many more.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 3 is available with all major carriers. Contract price is$299.99 or without Contract price is $699.99.

Nokia Lumia 1520

The Nokia Lumia 1520 runs Windows Phone 8 OS. The 1520 offers a larger display, faster processor, and lower resolution camera than the Lumia 1020. Features of the Lumia 1520 include integrated Microsoft Office, 20 mega pixel camera, HD 1080p display and many more.

The Nokia Lumia is only available through AT&T. Contract price is $199.99 or without Contract price is$584.99.

Google Nexus 5

The Nexus 5 runs Android 4.4. The Nexus 5 includes a Snapdragon 800 processor, 8 mega pixel camera, HDR+, wireless charging and many more.

The Nexus 5 prices are $349 (16GB) and $399 (32GB).

Moto X

The Moto X runs Android 4.4. The Moto X includes many features, such as, 10 mega pixel camera with quick capture, touch-less control, face unlock and many more.

The Moto X is available with all major carriers. Contract price is $99 or without Contract price is $499.

LG G2

The LG G2 runs Android 4.2.2. The LG G2 has 1080p IPS display, 13 mega pixel camera, power and volume rear keys , clip tray, knock on and many more features.

The LG G2 is available with all the major carriers. Contract price is $199.99 or without Contract price is $603.99.

Samsung Galaxy S4

The Samsung Galaxy S4 runs Android 4.2. The Galaxy S4 has a 13 mega pixel camera with Dual shot and Drama Shot, Air View that allows you to control your phone with hovering instead of touch, WatchON, S Health and many more.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 is available with all the major carriers. Contract price is $199.99 or without Contract price is $627.99.

Motorola Droid Maxx

The Motorola Droid Maxx has outlasting power with a 3,500 mAh capacity battery. The Droid Maxx features include active notifications, always-on listening, Command Center, wireless charging, 10 mega pixel camera and many more.

The Droid Maxx is only available at Verizon Wireless. Contract price is $199.99 or without Contract price is $499.99.

Sony Xperia Z1

The Sony Xperia Z1 is waterproof and dust resistant. The Xperia Z1 has man features that include 20.7 mega pixel camera, full HD TRILUMINOUS display, quad-core processor, 2GB RAM, microSD card slot, and many more.

The Sony Xperia Z1 is available without a contract for $649.99.

New Security Threat: CryptoWall

crypt

In October of last year news broke about a new form of malware called Cryptolocker. This malware posed a particularly large threat to many business users and led to many quick and important security updates. Now, almost a year later, it appears that the second version of this – CryptoWall – has been released and is beginning to infect users.

What is Crypto malware?

Crypto malware is a type of trojan horse that when installed onto computers or devices, holds the data and system hostage. This is done by locking valuable or important files with a strong encryption. You then see a pop-up open informing you that you have a set amount of time to pay for a key which will unlock the encryption. If you don’t pay before the deadline, your files are deleted.

When this malware surfaced last year, many users were understandably more than a little worried and took strong precautions to ensure they did not get infected. Despite these efforts, it really didn’t go away until earlier this year, when security experts introduced a number of online portals that can un-encrypt files affected by Cryptolocker, essentially neutralizing the threat, until now that is. A recently updated version is threatening users once again.

Cryptolocker 2.0, aka. CryptoWall

Possibly because of efforts by security firms to neutralize the Cryptolocker threat, the various developers of the malware have come back with an improved version, CryptoWall and it is a threat that all businesses should be aware of.

With CryptoWall, the transmission and infection methods remain the same as they did with the first version: It is most commonly found in zipped folders and PDF files sent over email. Most emails with the malware are disguised as invoices, bills, complaints, and other business messages that we are likely to open.

The developers did however make some “improvements” to the malware that make it more difficult to deal with for most users. These changes include:

Unique IDs are used for payment: These are addresses used to verify that the payment is unique and from one person only. If the address is used by another user, payment will now be rejected. This is different from the first version where one person who paid could share the unlock code with other infected users.
CryptoWall can securely delete files: In the older version of this threat, files were deleted if the ransom wasn’t paid, but they could be recovered easily. In the new version the encryption has increased security which ensures the file is deleted. This leaves you with either the option of paying the ransom or retrieving the file from a backup.
Payment servers can’t be blocked: With CryptoLocker, when authorities and security experts found the addresses of the servers that accepted payments they were able to add these to blacklists, thus ensuring no traffic would come from, or go to, these servers again. Essentially, this made it impossible for the malware to actually work. Now, it has been found that the developers are using their own servers and gateways which essentially makes them much, much more difficult to find and ban.

How do I prevent my systems and devices from being infected?

Unlike other viruses and malware, CryptoWall doesn’t go after passwords or account names, so the usual changing of your passwords won’t really help. The best ways to prevent this from getting onto your systems is:

Don’t open any suspicious attachments – Look at each and every email attachment that comes into your inbox. If you spot anything that looks odd, such as say a spelling mistake in the name, or a long string of characters together, then it is best to avoid opening it.
Don’t open emails from unknown sources – Be extra careful about emails from unknown sources, especially ones that say they provide business oriented information e.g., bank statements from banks you don’t have an account with or bills from a utilities company you don’t use. Chances are high that they contain some form of malware.