Microsoft Outlook is Rolling Out New Design Changes

Microsoft is making some long overdue and welcome changes to Outlook to include the Windows and the Web-based version.

People who use either one will now see a “Coming Soon” option that allows users to toggle between the version they’ve got now, and the new and improved version with the changes.

As to those changes, they fall broadly into three groups:

1. Better Organization – The improved Outlook offers intelligent technology, specialized icons, visual changes and a “highlights” feature that are all designed to help you manage your time better and provide a greater level of focus on your daily and weekly activities.
2. Improved Speed and Efficiency – The redesign is sleeker and faster. Using it will allow you to schedule meetings, read and act on emails and write new emails much more quickly than the old version.
3. More Customization – Hotmail users know only too well that Outlook on the web has lagged behind its competitors in terms of customization, and the redesign seeks to change that. Microsoft is playing a bit of catch up here, but any improvements on this front are welcome indeed. Among other things, you can now apply additional themes, personalize your inbox and simplify the ribbon.

There’s no word yet on how long the new features will be offered as an opt-in option, but of course, at some point, the company will mandate the change.

On balance, these are good changes. Perhaps more modest than long-time users would like to have seen, but again, any changes to one of the oldest email systems still around have to be counted as a positive.

Kudos to Microsoft for keeping Outlook reasonably up to date, and here’s hoping that the user base embraces them. which we hope hope will encourage the company to make additional improvements.

Which Web Browser Is the Right One for You?

The battle of the web browsers has raged on for years. While the classic rivalry between Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer has long passed, we are now facing a broader field of competition. There are currently four web browsers competing for space in your hard drive, and we’ve drawn up this list of their advantages and disadvantages to help you choose.

Google Chrome
By just about any metric, Google Chrome has been the browser of choice for most internet users over the last couple years. It’s easy to use and its graphics interface has a low profile. However, if you want to customize Chrome with extensions and apps, there are more than enough options. The bottom line is: this is the best browser for users who spend a lot of time in G-Suite documents, or want the security benefits of frequent patches and updates.

Apple Safari
We might as well start off with the one, glaring drawback of Safari: It’s available only to Apple users. However, if you are working on a macOS or iOS device, Safari has a lot going for it. Ad blocking is built right into the browser, as well as RSS support for aggregating lots of information in one place. And because tabs can be automatically synced across all your Apple devices, we highly recommend Safari for anyone in a Mac environment.

Microsoft Edge
Note that Edge is a different browser than Internet Explorer. The latter still exists, but we’ve decided to skip it for various reasons. Although Edge works only on Windows 10 systems, it has two things going for it. First, Microsoft has announced a feature that will incorporate virtualization into Edge to quarantine downloads for testing before they’re opened on your computer. Second, the Windows 10 browser comes with some fantastic Office 365 integration. We highly recommend Edge for users working in a business enterprise environment.

Opera
We’ve saved the most controversial for last. The Opera browser isn’t one of the most popular browsers around, but it does deserve consideration. Although it requires more customization and under-the-hood-work than its competitors, its privacy settings are unmatched. With a built-in virtual private network feature and some of the most robust ad blocking on the market, Opera is a great way to take a break from cookies and targeted advertisements.

Choosing a web browser may seem like such an inconsequential thing, but just think about the rate of cloud adoption. If you plan on utilizing more software-as-a-service solutions in the coming years, one tiny feature in a browser could make all the difference. Contact us today about planning your cloud deployment over the coming years.

4 Rules Every Remote-Worker Should Follow

With today’s great technology solutions, working remotely is no longer just a dream. Many businesses have either a partial or a complete remote staff, and it’s all held together by modern technology solutions. However, even with the latest tech, the remote worker still has to invest in their own success.

If you work remotely, here are four ways that you can maximize your productivity and keep yourself from getting in the way of your best work.

Have a Dedicated Office
You might have your own cubicle or office space at your workplace, but when you work remotely, you often have to get creative. You could turn a booth at a restaurant into a workspace, or your living room sofa into your office. However, this is often counterproductive and distracting. Instead of hoping to get work done away from your desk, you should arrange to have a dedicated home office with lots of space and privacy. This should be the place where you go to get good, solid work done; where all of your files and technology solutions are located. Also, it helps to avoid working in busy public places whenever possible, like coffee shops and restaurants.

Set Specific Rules for Your Family and Visitors
If you’re going to work remotely, this will often mean setting up a home office where you can go to get your best work done. If you have a family that’s always at home, it can be distracting. You need to set clear boundaries so that they know when it’s a good time to drop by your office. Furthermore, it’s a good idea to limit what you should be doing during the workday. It’s one thing to take a short break to handle some minor chores, but another entirely to get distracted by multiple large tasks. Working remotely is a privilege, and as such, you need to stay productive in order to retain this flexibility.

Keep Working Until the End of Your Shift
When you work remotely, you might have the impression that taking an early-out might not be a big issue. However, this can be a slippery slope; one day you’ll start taking more and more time off of the end of the day, and before you know it, your work performance will suffer and you won’t have anyone to blame but yourself. Plus, if you continuously abuse this privilege, you might ruin the opportunity to work remotely for the rest of your coworkers.

Use the Right Technology Solutions
Remote workers are only as effective as the tools that they use to get work done. This is why businesses often have to implement proper technology solutions, like virtual private networks and Voice over Internet Protocol communications, to ensure maximum protection for their investments and productivity for their employees. If your organization could use a tech revamp to accommodate remote workers, Net Activity can help.

For more information about how to keep your remote workers productive, contact us at 216-503-5150.

Here Is a List of this Year’s Most Devastating Hack-So Far…

Every business owner needs to consider how to approach network security. This is especially true with the litany of threats that face their organization’s network from simply being connected to the Internet. It may sound like an overstatement at first, but when you consider what some huge corporations–that have some very deep pockets–have dealt with very recently, it becomes evident that figuring out how to approach cybersecurity is one of the most important considerations any business owner has to make.

Today, we’ve compiled some statistics that give these threats context, as well as a list of some of the most devastating hacks from the first half of 2018. Hopefully, these lists will put into perspective just how important building a network security strategy is for your company. Here are some statistics to help reinforce just how important cybersecurity is:

• In 2017 over 130 large-scale breaches were reported, a 27 percent increase over 2016.
• Nearly 1-in-3 organization have experienced some sort of cyberattack in the past.
• Cryptojacking (stealing cryptocurrency) increased 8,500 percent in 2017.
• 100,000 organizations were infected with the WannaCry ransomware (400,000 machines).
• 5.4 billion WannaCry attacks were blocked in 2017.
• The average monetary cost of a malware attack is $2.4 million.
• The average time cost of a malware is 50 days.
• Ransomware cost organization’s over $5 billion in 2017.
• 20 percent of cyberattacks come from China, 11 percent from the United States, and six percent from the Russian Federation.
• Phone numbers are the most leaked information.
• 21 percent of files are completely unprotected.
• 41 percent of companies have over 1,000 sensitive files left unprotected.
• Ransomware is growing at 350 percent annually.
• IoT-based attacks are growing at about 500 percent per year.
• Ransomware attacks are expected to quadruple by 2020.
• 7.7 percent of web requests lead to malware.
• There were 54 percent more types of malware in 2017 than there were in 2016.
• The cybersecurity market will be worth over $1 trillion by 2025.

If that isn’t scary enough, below are some of the attacks that have taken place in 2018. We’ve broken them down into public (individuals, governments, etc.), and private (businesses). Keep in mind all these events took place before the calendar turned to July:

Public
January

• The Department of Homeland Security was affected by a data breach that exposed information about 247,167 current and former employees.

March

• Atlanta, Georgia was targeted by a ransomware attack called SamSam. This resulted in a massive problem for their municipal infrastructure. The ransom price given was $51,000, but Atlanta’s leadership refused to meet these demands. Overall, the numbers show that Atlanta has spent more than 10 times that number in the fallout of the attack. Some estimates place the actual cost of this event at nearly $20 million.
• India’s national ID database, Aadhaar, leaked data of over a billion people. This is one of the largest data breaches in history. A user could pay 500 rupees, equal to about $7, to get the login credentials that allowed anyone to enter a person’s 12-digit code for their personal information. For 300 rupees, or about $4.20, users could also access software that could print an ID card for anyone associated with the database.
• Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics company that U.S. President Donald Trump used to help his campaign, harvested personal information from over 50 million Facebook users without asking for their permission. Facebook hasn’t called this a data breach, but Cambridge Analytica has since been banned from using the service thanks to this event.

June

• A hack of a U.S. Government-funded active shooter training center exposed the personal data of thousands of U.S. law enforcement officials. This also exposed which police departments aren’t able to respond to an active shooter situation.

Private
January

• 280,000 Medicaid records were exposed when a hacker attacked the Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences. Among the information exposed were patient names, provider names, and full names for affected individuals.

February

• An unsecured server owned by Bongo International, a company acquired by FedEx, leaked over a hundred-thousand files of FedEx customers. Some of the information leaked included names, drivers’ licenses, national ID cards, voting cards, and utility bills.

March

• Orbitz, a travel booking site, fell victim to a security vulnerability that exposed 880,000 customers’ payment card information. There was also about two whole years of customer data stolen from their server.
• French news site L’Express left a database that wasn’t password-protected up for weeks, despite being warned about the security issues regarding this.
• 134,512 records regarding patients and financial records at the St. Peter’s Surgery and Endoscopy Center in Albany, NY were accessed by hackers.
• MyFitnessPal, an application used by Under Armor, exposed about 150 million people’s personal information to threats.
• The WannaCry ransomware claimed another victim in Boeing, which stated that “a few machines” were protected by Microsoft’s 2017 patch.

May

• Thanks to Twitter storing user passwords in a plaintext file that may have been exposed by internal company staff, the social media titan had to force hundreds of millions of users to change their password.
• An unauthenticated API found on T-Mobile’s website exposed the personal information of all their customers simply through the use of their cell phone number. The following information was made available: full name, address, account numbers, and tax IDs.
• A bug found in Atlassian development software titles Jira and Confluence paved the way for hackers to sneak into IT infrastructure of several companies and one U.S. government agency.
• Rail Europe, a popular server used by American travelers to acquire rail tickets, experienced a three-month data breach that exposed credit card information to hackers.

June

• A marketing company named Exactis had 340 million records stolen from it, but what’s most shocking about this is that they had accumulated information about nearly every American out there. In response to the breach, there was a class action lawsuit made against the company.
• Adidas’s website was hacked, resulting in a loss of a few million users’ personal and credit card information.
• A hacker collective called Magecart initiated a campaign to skim at least 800 e-commerce sites, including Ticketmaster, for sensitive information.

These lists are meant to be a reminder about just how bad it can get for a company if they aren’t diligently approaching their network’s security. If your organization needs help avoiding the pitfalls that would make them just another statistic, reach out to the professional technicians at Net Activity. We can help you put in motion a security strategy that will work to mitigate threats and keep you off lists like this one. Call us today at 216-503-5150.

Is It Safe to Have Your Browser Remember Your Passwords?

Let’s be honest – not all of us have the best memories. This makes the ability for many browsers to remember our passwords seem like a godsend. However, is this capability actually a good thing for your cybersecurity? The answer may not surprise you.

Nope!
While yes, the fact that we no longer have to remember each different password for our online accounts may seem ideal, relying on the browser to remember them for us presents a few issues. Each of these browsers leaves some kind of opening for a hacker to review a user’s list of passwords.

Google Chrome – When a user is logged into their Google account, Chrome will automatically save any passwords that user inputs. If a hacker was then able to gain access to that Google account, the entire list of passwords would be available to them.

Mozilla Firefox – Utilizing low-level encryption, Firefox hides a user’s passwords, utilizing a single master password as the encryption key. However, because this encryption has such a low level, a brute force attack can break it. Plus, if someone is in possession of the device itself, they can access the passwords without having to log in.

Safari – Just as is the case with Firefox, Safari stores all passwords in the browser’s settings, where they can be accessed without a login required.

Internet Explorer – When Internet Explorer saves passwords, all it takes to expose them is a readily available tool.

Microsoft Edge – Edge has had some security issues, such as a flaw that enabled hackers to read files that were browser-compatible (like the notepad files that some might keep a list of passwords in). In addition, some third-party password managers, like Edge Password Manager, have failed to require password authentication in the past.

Of course, there are other threats to your password security as well. For instance, a bug that dates back 11 years was discovered early this year that allowed website credentials to be stolen. A secondary form was hidden behind the login form, stealing usernames (which were often just the user’s email) and passwords without the user having any idea.

What Can Be Done?
Your first step should be to disable your preferred browser’s built-in password manager.

Google Chrome – Under the toolbar, select Chrome Menu, and from there, Settings. Scroll down until you can select Advanced, and from there, select Manage passwords (found under Passwords and forms). Finally, switch Auto Sign-in to off.

Mozilla Firefox – In the toolbar’s Firefox Menu, access Options. On the left, access Privacy & Security, and find Forms & Passwords. Find the Remember logins and passwords for websites option and deselect it.

Safari – Select Safari Menu from the toolbar, and then select Preferences and Autofill. Then you’ll need to deselect Using info from my Address Book card, Usernames and passwords, and Other forms.

Internet Explorer – First, you need to reconsider utilizing Internet Explorer, assuming your organization gives you a choice in the matter. If you must, you will want to access the toolbar’s Internet Explorer Menu and select Internet Options. From there, click into Content, and select Settings (found under AutoComplete). Deselect both Forms and Searches and User names and passwords on forms. Finally, save your changes by clicking OK.

Microsoft Edge – Again, from the toolbar, select Edge Menu and from there, Settings. Scroll down to find View advanced settings. Under Privacy and services, deactivate Offer to save passwords, and under Manage passwords, deactivate Save from entries.

We understand, remembering all of your different passwords can be a real pain, but relying on your browser to remember them just isn’t a good option. There are, however, services like LastPass that can store your passwords much more safely behind much more powerful encryption. While these solutions aren’t infallible either, they are a much better choice than entrusting your browser.

For more help managing your business IT and its security, give Net Activity a call at 216-503-5150.

Do You Know How to Determine Your Computing Needs?

In most businesses today, the computer is an essential tool. Taking this into consideration, you need to make sure that your staff is equipped with the right tools for their given job… but which tool is the right tool? Here, we’ll review the determinations that will help you make the best choice of workstation for your employees’ needs.

It is important to keep in mind that while our approach will address your workforce as a whole, you will probably find it more effective to review the needs of each department, or even each employee. After all, differing responsibilities may require different capabilities – a system that works just fine for someone who mostly works in data entry probably won’t be enough for someone who produces media on the regular. Of course, other factors may lead to differing requirements, as well. For instance…

Step One: How Mobile Are They?
Your first determination will need to be based on your average employee’s typical work-related behavior. If they need the ability to go mobile, a desktop workstation just isn’t going to work for them. You may find that laptop computers are a better choice for your company because of this.

Laptops may also be beneficial if your company culture, weather conditions, or nature of your business leads your staff to work remotely. On the other hand, if your staff is more or less tied to their desks in the office during business hours, a desktop solution may be the better option.

This factor really all depends on how much time “on the clock” is spent working in one place. The more mobility that is necessary, the more likely it is that a laptop is the better choice.

Step Two: What Do They Need to Do With It?
This ties in closely with the first consideration, yet expands to include the other scenario we referenced above, comparing the needs of data entry to the needs of media production. This is also where it may make more sense to examine your users’ needs on a case-by-case basis, unless your entire team is engaged in the same kind of work.

What programs are the ones that your employees will need to use? Once you’ve identified these programs, check the minimum requirements. Whatever you get should be more than capable of meeting these requirements. After all, these programs are likely to be updated, and you don’t want to find yourself having to prematurely replace your systems because they can no longer handle your business-essential software. The recommended specifications will give you a better idea of what you should look for, and if that only helps so much, you can always ask the help of a professional.

Step Three: What Will Work for Them?
Finally, you need to consider the final variable in this equation – your employees themselves. While this probably won’t be what makes (or alters) your final decision, you should at least know what their preference would be.

If it just so happens that their preferences don’t mesh with your plans for your company, there are other ways to use technology to achieve the same outcome. From a Bring Your Own Device policy to remote monitoring and management to remote solutions, there are ways to keep your employees happy and your business productive through the tools that you leverage.

Net Activity can help you put all of these methods into place, and more. Contact us at 216-503-5150 for more information on what we offer.

Disaster Preparedness Month is Here-Are You Ready?

Did you know that the US government has designated September as National Disaster Preparedness Month?

Fortunately here in the Midwest region we are unlikely to experience the strong and dangerous effects of Hurricane Florence, although we may experience heavier than usual rainfall, possible flooding, and power outages. The time to prepare for storm damage and power loss is now, and after securing one’s personal safety and home, it’s important to consider the impact this storm could have on your business.

Here are a few business continuity tips you should take when a storm or other natural disaster event approaches:

• Create a phone tree for your organization and stay in touch.
• Have a plan and contingencies.
  • What do you need to take from your office?
  • How will you support your customers, and from where?
• Send out the storm plan to your employees, customers and partners.  Include a communications schedule and stick to it.
  • Send an update to employees every few hours with what you know and don’t know.
  • Send updates to customers, partners and suppliers with updated that affect them regularly.
• If your business cannot withstand a period of lengthy downtime, secure an off-site facility in a safe location for you and your employees, or ensure that everyone is able to work remotely.
• Heavy storm activity can put data centers out of commission.  Make sue your business data, backups, applications and server images are stored off-site.
  • Your IT professionals will be able to restore systems either virtually via the cloud or at the site where you are resuming operations.
  • If time allows, test the backups of crucial servers before the storm hits.

For more tips and information on how to protect from natural disasters, download our Hurricane and Tropical Storm Survival Guide here.

Up your Productivity with these 6 Time-saving Tips for Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word remains one of the most popular and user-friendly apps for business. It is compatible with both Windows and Mac and can be used to create a wide array of business documents. While millions of people use Word every day, most don’t know how to maximize its potential. And since it is constantly being updated, you need to check out these tips that will help you save time.

Edit simultaneously
You and your colleagues can now edit the same Word document at the same time. Just save yours in the cloud on OneDrive, click Share, then send the link to your colleagues. You’ll even be able to see them editing in real time.

Continue your work with Word Online
Don’t have the Word app on your computer, tablet, or smartphone? Go to word.office.com, sign in with your Microsoft account, and open Word Online, the browser version of Word. By clicking the blue Share button, your colleagues can access your document using Word Online or the Word app, which means anyone with the link and an internet connection can jump right in

Keep editorial control
With the Track Changes function, Word monitors all the edits that everyone makes to your document so you can go through the changes and accept or reject them accordingly.

To turn on Track Changes, click on the Review tab then select Track Changes. When reviewing a colleague’s edits, you have control to click on Accept or Reject as you see fit.

Format the easy way: Write first, format later
The Style Gallery in Word makes it easy to format your document, despite the huge number of font types, sizes, colors, and effects to choose from. After finishing writing and editing your document, click the Home tab and you will see the Style Gallery prominently on top. Select the appropriate Headings in the font, size, and color that you like, and change any other text in any way you like — just make sure you don’t make any changes to the actual content that’s already been edited!

Insert photos faster, more conveniently
No need to open your browser to look for photos for your document. Just place the cursor on the area where you intend to insert the photo, click on the Insert tab, select Online pictures (type “clip art” on the search box if that’s what you need), select a photo, then click Insert.

Edit a PDF file
Click on the File menu, select Open, and choose Browse. Highlight the PDF you want to edit, then click Open. Word will convert files to the new format using text recognition, so double-check if the conversion is correct. Make the appropriate changes, then click File, then Save As, then Browse. A “Save as type:” dropdown menu will appear at which point you will choose “PDF” then click Save.

These tips may seem straightforward, but over time they can make a big difference in helping you work faster. Want to learn more Word tricks and tips? Get in touch with our Microsoft Office experts today!

Evernote as a Productivity Tool

Smartphones are handy little devices for a lot of different reasons, not the least of which their availability when a note needs to be taken and the apps that are available for just that purpose. One of these apps, Evernote, stands a step above the rest, especially for use in a business setting.

For this month’s productivity tip, we’ll go over some of the features that Evernote offers that can help out your business.

Evernote, Explained
Evernote is essentially a cloud-based virtual filing system that allows users to create and organize an assortment of file types, saving them as “notes” within “notebooks.” A variety of its capabilities make it well-suited to business use, including support on a computer and a mobile device, integrations with other business-friendly applications, and its capacity for collaboration.

Evernote is available in a few tiers, with a free version, a paid premium version, and another paid business-centric version. This final tier delivers a few features that are unique and useful to a business audience, such as administrative capabilities and Spaces, a means for direct collaboration. However, we’ll instead focus on the free version, which has plenty to offer a business user as well.

Speaking the Language
To better appreciate Evernote’s organizational capacity, it helps to understand its internal terminology.

• Notes – a note is how Evernote refers to any document, in any of the formats that Evernote plays nicely with. This includes typed-up text, content clipped from the Internet, or visual content.
• Notebooks – a notebook is what your notes are stored and organized in by category.
• Tags – a tag is a keyword that you can add to a note, allowing it to be searchable via that keyword. These keywords allow notes to be viewed as a collection, even if they exist in separate notebooks.

Openly Available Features
As we said, the free version of Evernote, while not designed for business use, has no shortage of features that a business user would find extremely handy for their work processes.

• Shareability – Any content that you have on Evernote can be shared with anyone else, whether or not that person also uses Evernote. While this power would need to be used responsibly in a business setting to maintain security, this could also be a useful feature to leverage.
• Assistant Compatibility – For those users who rely on Siri or the Google Assistant throughout the day, they can be used to navigate Evernote and edit your notes by voice command.
• Scrapbook-Style Note-Taking – If you happen to find pertinent content while surfing the Internet, Evernote also has a browser extension that lets you pull whatever it is into the correct notebook.
• Self-Management – Evernote offers various capabilities that can assist in organization. From to-do lists to built-in reminders, you won’t miss another deadline.

Is Evernote a good fit for your business operations? It could be! For any of your other IT-related questions or needs, don’t hesitate to reach out to Net Activity at 216-503-5150.