Ever Wonder If Your Apps Are Spying On You? Now You Can Find Out

It’s no secret that some applications are a little too interested in us and what we’re doing.

We’ve all had this experience. You might be talking to a friend about a new product that you’d like to try. Or perhaps you’ve discussed somewhere you’d like to visit.

Then the next time you go online you see adverts for the exact things you were talking about.

It’s more than a coincidence, surely???

Until recently, we haven’t had a lot of control over what information our apps are gathering about us.

Android and iOS first stepped up to give us more power over our online privacy. We were given the ability to control which apps could access our data, and sensitive things like our camera and microphone.

But while it’s easy to think of this only being an issue with phones… laptops have the same problems.

So here’s some great news. Microsoft’s testing a new feature in Windows 11 to put the power back in our hands.

It’s currently testing a new feature – called Privacy Auditing – which allows you to see which applications have been accessing sensitive hardware, like your webcam and microphone.

You’ll also be able to see if your screenshots, messages, and even your contacts and location data have been accessed. And there’s a log of which apps accessed this info, and when.

When launched, the feature will be available in your Privacy & Security menu, under App Permissions.

There you’ll be able to see a full list of what’s been accessed, by which app, and when. It should become your first port of call if you suspect any suspicious activity is taking place on your device.

When the feature is released, it will be a great tool to check periodically to help you avoid malicious activity and to make sure your sensitive data remains in the right hands.

In the meantime, if you’d like someone to look over the data permissions on your business’s devices, get in touch.

Understanding Microsoft 365 Collaboration Tools

There are three Microsoft 365 tools that are typically used for office communication and collaboration: Microsoft 365 Groups, Yammer, and Microsoft Teams. While these three are similar, did you know that there are subtle differences that set them apart from each other? Let’s take a look at some of these.

Microsoft 365 Groups

With Microsoft 365 Groups, every member gets a shared inbox, calendar, project planner, notebook, and document library. You can also integrate third-party apps like Twitter, Trello, and Mailchimp to Groups so notifications are sent directly to your shared inbox.

This means all relevant messages and information are sent to one place, so if your organization normally communicates via email, Microsoft 365 Groups is ideal. What’s more, HR and sales departments that communicate with external parties will also find plenty of uses for its email features.

A big downside of Microsoft 365 Groups, however, is email overload. Since all messages and notifications are sent to one inbox, users may become overwhelmed by the number of emails they have to sort through every day.

Microsoft Teams

Microsoft Teams, a chat-based collaboration platform, works with Skype for Business, so you can text, call, video chat, and share files with colleagues. Thanks to its seamless integrations with other Microsoft 365 apps, you can even work on shared files without leaving the app.

Unlike Groups, Microsoft Teams is designed for more advanced collaboration, making it great for completing projects with tight deadlines or other tasks requiring immediate feedback.

Yammer

Much like Groups and Teams, Yammer works well with other Microsoft 365 tools like Outlook and OneDrive. However, Yammer is a professional social media app designed to foster open communication and break down barriers between teams.

Yammer serves like a virtual office bulletin board: important files and announcements can be shared with the entire company through this platform. Users can also see the most popular post on their feeds, follow it, and even comment.

Yammer also takes design elements and features from social media apps like Facebook, making it a popular choice for companies with millennials in their workforce.

Although we’ve discussed the fundamental differences between Groups, Teams, and Yammer, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what each app can do. To figure out which apps you need, you must understand how your employees work, how they like to collaborate with one another, and what you want to achieve from such collaborations.

Fortunately, there’s another way to find the right app for your business: ask the experts. Contact us today for a Modern Workspace in a Box consultation!

Get Rid of PC Clutter With These Tips

Has your Windows 10 PC been running slowly? It’s likely because your desktop and hard drive are a jumbled mess of shortcuts, files, and other digital clutter. Let’s take a look at five types of clutter you should remove to get your computer performing like new.

5 Types of PC clutter

There are five types of clutter that may be causing your Windows 10 computer to run more slowly than it should.

• Windows updates – This includes failed update downloads. While Windows will delete some of these corrupted and unusable files, others will hang around your computer forever if you don’t look for and delete them.
• Registry bloat – This type of PC clutter includes files and applications you’ve deleted as well as every action performed in Windows, which is recorded in your computer’s registry.
• Error logs – These are log files kept by Windows whenever software in your system crashes or encounters errors in processing. Just like registry bloat, error logs accumulate in your computer over time, slowing it down considerably.
• User bloat – This refers to large numbers of your files, especially if they’re unorganized.
• Bloatware refers to unwanted preinstalled software such as trial versions of antivirus programs, games, and the like. Bloatware takes up plenty of space in your computer’s central processing unit, random access memory, and storage. What’s more, it poses a raft of security risks; for instance, it can introduce apps designed to exploit personal information stored in computers.

How to remove PC clutter

To remove these five types of clutter and optimize your PC’s performance, try these methods:

Run Disk Cleanup

Windows has a built-in tool called Disk Cleanup that removes hidden junk files. To run this tool, type “disk cleanup” in the search box on the taskbar, and select Disk Cleanup from the results. Pick the drive you want to clean, then click OK. Under “Files to delete,” select the file types you want to get rid of, then click OK.

Delete programs you don’t use or need

Free up memory and storage space by removing unused and redundant programs that you rarely use or don’t need. To do this, type “add or remove programs” in the search box on the taskbar, and select Add or remove programs from the results. Click on the files you’d like to remove, then click Uninstall.

If necessary: Refresh Windows 10

You can start fresh with a clean and up-to-date Windows 10 installation to get rid of clutter. This option will remove most installed apps (e.g., Microsoft Office, antivirus software, etc.) but it will keep your personal files and some Windows settings. However, it’s still best to back up your files before installing a fresh version of Windows 10.

To do this, type “recovery” in the search box on the taskbar and select Recovery Options. Under “More recovery options,” click Learn how to start fresh with a clean installation of Windows. Click Yes in the pop-up window that says, “Did you mean to switch apps? Settings is trying to open Windows Security.” This will launch the Windows Security app where you can click Get started to begin the Windows refresh process.

These are just some of the ways you can enhance your Windows 10 PC’s performance and get the most out of it. For more useful Windows tips, give Net Activity’s experts a call today.

Maintaining a Work-Life Balance is Crucial When Working from Home

With all that has gone on in terms of the coronavirus pandemic, it is little wonder that many businesses have suddenly changed their tune concerning the use of remote work. However, some workers are in a bit of a crisis as they try to adapt to their new work environment: suddenly, the place they would go at the end of the day to recover is the same place where work must now be done. This shift has led to a not-insignificant amount of stress and mental fatigue.

Maintain the Work-Life Balance

Before the current crisis, while large swaths of people were online, it was more often out of choice than necessity. The pandemic changed this dynamic, pushing people into their homes and in front of their screens… this time, motivated out of a need to continue to work. As your team continues to work at home and spend more time in front of their screens, the lines between home and business are becoming blurred.

When these lines become fuzzy, the first concern that comes to mind is reduced productivity due to work/home balance becoming off-kilter. It is essential to help your team balance their work/life experience to have a better remote work experience… not just for their well-being, but your business’ as well.

It can seem challenging to disconnect the two segments of your life, particularly as your work and home lives are no longer physically separated. Fortunately, you can take some steps to separate the two halves of your life better, reducing the chance of your personal life negatively affecting your professional life, or vice versa.

Keeping Work-Life Separate

As you work remotely at home, chances are you are using the same computer for home and work. The computer you email friends and family with is now the computer you use to handle your work correspondence. The computer that holds all of your family pictures is now accessing work documents. The computer that you or your kids play games on has to be ready to handle a solid 9-5.

Making everything distinct seems like a no-brainer, but it isn’t easy for everyone. The biggest thing you can do to help your employees is by offering a means for them to access the work environment as if they were sitting at their desk at the office.

There are a few ways to do that. You could supply them with a work device, or you need to give them secure, remote access to their workstation in the office. In fact, even if you supply them with a work device, you basically need a way to securely access files from the office anyway.

As a business owner or office manager, the last thing you want is your company data getting stored on a user’s personal device. You don’t control it when it’s there. Here are a few directions your business can take:

• Establish a secure VPN so all users can remote into the office securely and access all of their files, email, and applications from there. Of course, you’ll need to train your users how to use it.
• Invest in cloud solutions, and migrate all or parts of your existing network to the cloud so that it may be accessible from anywhere on any device. This will require training as well.

Although we’ve mentioned it for each of the above points, education is key. Your employees need to understand how these tools work, and the importance of using them and the issues that can emerge when not using them correctly.

For employees, your situation is going to depend on what the business has set up for you, but as a general rule of thumb, here are some important things to pay attention to:

• Always, ALWAYS store company information on the company network or in the cloud environment that the company manages. If a file is on your computer, it’s not protected.
• If you do work on your home PC or laptop, ensure that it is kept updated with the latest Windows updates, and ensure that you have an up-to-date antivirus set up.
• Be even more vigilant: cybercriminals are using the pandemic to their advantage, and cyberthreats are on the rise, especially for home users. Be careful what you click on, be skeptical of unsolicited or suspicious emails, and always practice good password hygiene. (Don’t use the same password for more than one account, and always use strong passwords).
• Use 2FA (2-factor authentication) whenever possible.

Remote Work is Here to Stay

Remote work is here to stay and how you maintain your work-life balance will determine whether or not you’re going to be able to navigate the new normal for the long term. If you are unable to, you are at risk of suffering from decreasing levels of productivity and eventual burn out.

Things are pretty stressful these days—the technology you work with doesn’t need to add on to that. As a business owner, you need to ensure that your team has all of the tools they need to work effectively, and as an employee, you need to ensure you are doing what you can to prevent data loss.

Is your team adapting to the remote normal? Net Activity can provide personalized solutions and consulting for your remote work needs. Schedule a meeting today by calling 216-503-5150.

Microsoft Rolls Out New Admin Capabilities

Migrating workflows to the cloud, securing all company devices and software, and ensuring 24/7 data access are gargantuan tasks that IT administrators have had to accomplish in the past few months due to the pandemic. And they had to accomplish all of these within an expedited timeline. To say that they are the unsung heroes of remote working is apt, but they also need all the help they can get. Microsoft rises to the occasion with these new Apps admin center features that will empower IT experts to be more efficient and productive at their jobs.

Intelligent insights

Intelligent insights include features like Apps Inventory, Add-In Inventory, and Security Currency that allow IT administrators, to find and mitigate any issues immediately. With these tools, administrators can gain an in-depth understanding of the organization’s Microsoft 365 environment and be privy to information such as:

• What devices are running Office apps and which versions they’re running;
• What Office add-ins are installed or running; and
• Which servicing channel each device belongs to.

Knowing all this information can help administrators identify and manage unsupported Office versions and add-ins to ensure security and compliance. Data is also easily exportable for reports or audits.

Servicing automation with controls

This feature streamlines and automates Microsoft 365 Apps servicing to eliminate manual deployment and accelerate the rollout of updates and security patches, thus saving effort, time, and costs. With this new feature, admins only need to apply a specific servicing profile to a set of devices to automatically deliver monthly updates for users or groups.

What’s more, IT admins are now able to view, pause, and resume updates on a per-device basis. If a user experiences issues during rollout, for instance, administrators can pause that user’s update and restore their software to a previous version while they troubleshoot.

Admins can also specify exclusion date periods, or when Office apps updates should not run, such as during holidays or company meetings. They can schedule this to happen only once or on a recurring basis, depending on their organization’s schedule. And for compliance purposes, admins can schedule updates to happen at a certain date and time, or they can let users install Office app updates at their most convenient time.

Microsoft 365 Apps health

With Microsoft 365 Apps health, IT admins can see how well Microsoft 365 apps are running during and in between deployments. It also calculates an organization’s overall app health based on three criteria: app reliability, app performance, and supported versions. On top of these, Microsoft 365 Apps health gives pertinent information such as Office app session crash rates and who reported such crashes. This allows admins to quickly identify issues and take actions to increase app performance and reliability.

With these new features, administrators can better manage Microsoft 365 apps, and users can count on better experiences and fewer downtimes. If you want to learn more about how technology can increase your business’s operational efficiency, don’t hesitate to call us. Our IT experts are always ready to help.

Protecting Your Data Privacy Is Harder than Ever

If you consider it, it’s amazing how much trust people have in Internet-based companies. They not only believe that these companies will fulfill their expectations, but that they will work to provide protection for some of their most valuable and sensitive information. Let’s take a look at some of the data collection practices that companies use and what they do with that data.

Your Average Website

People spend a lot of time online researching, buying, and interacting with companies. When you fill out a form with your name, and often your address, email address, and phone number, you are expecting that information to be secured on the other end.

This information isn’t always protected the way you would assume. In fact, many companies actually take your information and bundle it with hundreds or thousands of other people and sell it off for a profit. Of course, this is happening less and less as individual data protection is taken more seriously.

The problem becomes, what happens when this company gets breached. All of the information they have attached to your name (and other personally identifiable information {PII}) is exposed by hackers; and guess who is responsible? You are. Nearly every website that you go to will have all of this information in the fine print, leaving you with almost no recourse but to have your personal information out there for people to buy. It’s even worse when the lost information is medical or financial information. It can get real personal real fast.

That may be the worst-case scenario, but privacy isn’t great on the Internet to begin with. Every message you send, every movie you watch on a streaming service, every time you search something using the search function on a website, every item you buy online, leaves a data trail right back to you; and, this goes for everyone.

It isn’t only willing participation that strips you of your data, either. Almost everything you do on the Internet–whether it be messaging, streaming media, shopping, or simply surfing the web–leaves a data trail right back to you. Your data trail may not work against you, but it is always there and that data shapes your individual story online. If someone were to take an interest in you, there is a good chance that they would be able to find out a whole lot more than many people would be comfortable with.

How Do You Protect Yourself?

If your data has value, then you need to make an effort to protect it. You’d actually be surprised how much money companies pay to get your information. It may seem like it is thrown around, but actually to get the data they want about you (consumers) they need to pay. Think about all the ads you see on an average day. Most of those ads are there because they know what you want, and how to get it right in front of your face.

Here are a few things you can do to protect yourself online:

1. Make up complex, unique passwords – Having passwords that protect your data online is essential. The trick is to use passphrases that only you can remember. Sprinkle in upper-and-lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols and never use a password twice.
2. Read the Terms of Service – Reading the fine print can really be a huge benefit; and, we get it, it’s tedious. If you want to protect yourself online, know what you are allowing a company to do, whether it’s at a website or in a mobile app.
3. Monitor your financial activity – Today there are several services dedicated to helping people manage their finances more effectively. Finding one that you trust and provides you access to your latest credit reports is extremely useful.
4. Don’t connect to public Wi-Fi (if you can help it) – Data caps make this harder on people, but the more untrusted Wi-Fi you use, the larger the chance that you will be hacked, period.

If you would like more advice about keeping your personal information safe, and your good name unsullied, contact the IT professionals at Net Activity today.

Personalize your Windows PC with these Tips

Just like its predecessors, Windows 10 is designed to provide a personalized experience to its users. It offers many ways in which you can change your PC’s interface — how it looks, and even how it can be accessed. Here are some Windows 10 customization features you have to try.

Change your themes

The most notable way to personalize Windows 10 is by changing your background and lock screen images. Do this by right-clicking anywhere on your desktop and choosing Personalize. Here, you can choose and preview different backgrounds and themes you can use. You can even add new themes by using images from your gallery or by clicking Get more themes in the Microsoft Store.

Use dark mode

Want to give your Windows 10 an edgier feel? Right-click on your desktop and choose Personalize. Go to Colors. Under Choose your color, select Dark. This changes the colors of your windows and menus from white or gray to black, and text from black to white. The colors on websites and third-party apps remain unchanged, however. To restore your default settings, repeat the process but click Light.

Virtual desktops

If you’re having trouble separating your work files from your personal files, try creating a virtual desktop. Press the Windows key + TAB to show all your open windows. Click on the Add a new desktop button at the upper left corner of your screen to create a virtual desktop. While viewing your open windows, you can click and drag windows from one desktop to another. To quickly switch between desktops, use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + Windows key + left/right arrow. Remove a virtual desktop by pressing Windows key + TAB. Click on the X button on the desktop you want to erase.

App snapping

App snapping is not exactly a new feature, but Windows 10 lets you snap any app in place. Snap an app window by dragging it into any of the four corners of your screen. This changes your window to a fourth of your screen size, allowing you to view multiple windows at once. You can have a maximum of four separate windows simultaneously open in your monitor.

Reorganize your Start Menu

To add a little more “you” to your Windows PC, you can customize how your apps are arranged on the Start menu. For one, you can resize the Start menu by simply dragging the top or right side of the menu. You can also resize the live tiles by right-clicking on them and selecting Resize. You can also rearrange application tiles by dragging them anywhere around the Start menu. If you won’t be using a particular application, simply right-click the tile and select Unpin from Start. On the other hand, if you want to pin applications to the Start menu, right-click on an app and choose Pin to Start. For even faster access to apps, simply pin the programs to the taskbar.

Change color themes

Is the plain black Start menu not doing it for you anymore? Just right-click on your desktop, choose Personalize, go to Color, and select any accent color that pleases you. Tick the checkboxes under Show accent color on the following surfaces if you want this color applied to the Start menu, taskbar, action center, and title bars.

Disable notifications

We don’t know where you stand on app notifications, but if you absolutely hate them and wish to never get them ever again, press the Windows key and click on the gear icon to open your Settings. Click System and select Notifications & Actions. Switch off whatever app notifications you don’t want.

Switch up and personalize your Windows 10 however you like by using some or all of these options. If you want more ways to personalize your desktop or if you need information on anything Windows 10-related, give us a call and we’ll be happy to help.

5 Types of Disasters You Don’t See Coming That Can Hinder Your Business Continuity

Only 6% of companies without a disaster recovery plan survive a disaster.

When computer systems fail, or disaster strikes, business comes to a grinding halt. Replacement hardware takes time to order and install, infrastructure needs to be rebuilt, and backups need to be prepared and applied. This can take days or weeks, even with a good backup solution. Unfortunately, when business is down, every second counts.

Business continuity is a term that describes your capability to continue to deliver products or services following a disruptive incident. But, business continuity planning can be an afterthought until cyber theft or a natural disaster occurs and all systems come to a halt. Small business (non-IT or non-technical businesses) can prepare for business continuity by planning for the following 5 disasters:

Not “Planning to Fail.”

Machines and hardware fail. Machines and hardware fail. While most IT hardware is fairly resistant to failures, most devices fall far short of a perfect track record, and no one is immune to hard disk or internet connection failures. While it can be costly for your company to eliminate any single point of failure in your IT infrastructure, having a disaster recovery plan that does this is the only way to ensure that a hardware failure doesn’t interrupt your service or cause data loss.

Failing to Plan.

Only 6% of companies without a disaster recovery plan survive a disaster. When something goes wrong- whether it’s a natural disaster such as flood or fire, a criminal attack like a burglary or cybercrime, or human error causing a system failure or other incident – you need more than insurance policies to protect your business. Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Planning (DRBC) is your first line of defense when an incident occurs. While insurance companies sort out claims, it needs to be ‘business as usual’ for most companies, and there’s no time to wait for paperwork to be completed and this is where your disaster recovery and business continuity planning are vital.

Understanding that IT Disasters are Costly.

The costs associated with not preparing for an IT disaster are staggering; and many companies that aren’t effectively prepared for disaster situations simply cannot bounce back from a significant crisis. In fact, up to 75 percent of businesses fail within three years after a major natural or data disaster. The good news is that research shows companies with business continuity planning recover faster and more effectively following an emergency. In the meantime, the expected cost of data breaches and data loss will top $2.1 trillion by 2019 as more data is digitized, and the majority of these data breaches will come from existing network infrastructure and IT systems.

Remembering that Humans Make Mistakes; and Preparing for It.

80% of downtime instances impact mission-critical applications and business data and the majority are caused by human error. Human error is, by far, the most common and most frequent cause of business disasters. By definition, human errors are unintentional but can often be the hardest to prevent and correct. Having a disaster recovery plan that creates a series of incremental online data backups lets you easily restore your files to an error-free state. A disaster recovery plan that incorporates checking and double checking, along with online backups is often the best remedy.

Disasters affect everything.

Your business runs 365 days a year; your systems run 24/7; your data is needed in real-time. A data center outage costs about $8851 per minute and can cause forfeited sales, lost data, damaged equipment, disrupted processes, legal or compliance liabilities, damaged client relationships and reputation, and wasted resources controlling the damage.

Businesses with a disaster recovery plan report increased savings, enhanced system reliability, improved security and reduced insurance premiums…even without a disaster. It’s important for you-as a business owner, office manager or CEO to remember: “the time to prepare the roof is while the sun is still shining.” (Kennedy)