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Up Your Schedule Management Game By Using Microsoft 365’s Bookings Feature

Are you struggling to keep track of your tasks and events? Microsoft 365’s new Bookings feature may be just what you need. With this feature, you can easily create and manage appointments for yourself or your team. Here is some key information on how to use the Bookings feature and some of its benefits.

Visibility

Bid goodbye to the days of scribbling on Post-its and frantically going through your schedule to find out where you’re heading for lunch. Bookings provides you with a unique scheduling app that is compatible on both desktops and mobile devices. Here, customers can select times and dates based on current availability — simply enter the contact information and then book it. The system then fully automates the process of managing your appointments.

No more rain checks

Cancellations and missed appointments mean wasted time slots unless you’re able to fill them up with new bookings. Avoid lost income by controlling how much advance notice is required to make a cancellation. With Bookings, appointments appear immediately in staff calendars and can be added or revised by customers in their own personal calendars.

Additionally, a confirmation email is automatically sent to the customer, followed by another automatic email reminder before the appointment time. The web page also offers a rescheduling service: customers can simply click on the link on the confirmation email and pick a time that’s better for them.

Synchronization

Once completed, the booking is then synced to a centralized calendar where businesses are given the option to reschedule, cancel, or reassign the appointment to other staff members as they see fit.

Should you decide to reassign a booking to staff members, Bookings offers a nifty feature known as “split view.” This shows which staff members are booked at which times, and lets you compare everyone’s schedules side by side. The appointments are synced not only to your calendar but to the staff members’ calendars as well. Moreover, this versatile system accommodates Office 365, Outlook, and even Google Calendar, so clients and staff can keep whatever calendaring service they prefer.

Double duty

Appointment setting might be the primary function of Bookings, but the system can also be utilized to build your company’s customer list. Once customers input their information into the system, it automatically creates contact entries for those customers. The contact card contains personal information such as your customer’s name, address, phone number, and email address.

And as your company grows, you can add more staff members as well as create additional booking pages for free. Furthermore, staff members aren’t required to have Office 365 subscriptions to be a part of the service.

Efficient tech resources aren’t enough to maintain a successful business anymore. To really stand out from competitors, you need comprehensive appointment management. Give us a call if you need any questions answered or issues addressed. We’re more than happy to help.

Three New Teams Features To Look Forward To

The use of Microsoft Teams has just exploded in the last few years, and it now boasts 270 million people using it every month.

Of course, it was the right tool at the right time when we all rushed to working from home at the start of the pandemic.

But the growth of Teams has continued, even if some believe the growth has slowed down a little recently.

Teams is so important to some businesses, that the owners and managers wonder how they ever managed without it.

Teams gives us the ability to stay connected wherever we’re working and to collaborate on projects with no fuss.

Because it’s part of the Microsoft 365 package, it’s the logical solution to keep a team working together in the hybrid work age.

One of the things that makes Teams so special is Microsoft’s commitment to constantly making improvements and adding features. They’re not just making the core features better. They’re helping all of us be more productive and less distracted.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen new features such as a virtual whiteboard you can use to throw around ideas in a video meeting.

Also, new and improved chat features, such as pinning chats to the top. You can also filter messages more easily. And change your view to allow you to focus just on the task you’re working on.

There are always more new features in development to make the experience even better.

There are three new features being released soon that we’re excited about.

The first is due for release later this month. This feature feels like it should have been there from day one. When you rename a Teams channel, it will automatically change the name of corresponding SharePoint folder.

This will help to make everything a lot more organized and will save you time hunting for the right folder.

Then in June, a new Chat With Self feature will be released. This will allow you to send yourself notes, messages, files and images. How have we lived without this feature for so long?! We think this could be a real game changer.

And finally, an improvement to Teams calls you can make from your browser, rather than the Teams app. It should be the same experience with the same features in both.

Of course, there are many other updates being released throughout the rest of the year. With Teams, there’s always an exciting new update on the way.

If you need any help setting up Teams, so it’s customized to your business, get in touch.

Must-Try Windows 11 Customization Features

Windows 11, the newest operating system from Microsoft, is a breath of fresh air for PC users. Designed to provide a personalized experience, it offers many ways to change your PC’s interface, from how windows look to how apps can be accessed. Here are some Windows 11 customization features that will give you more control over your PC settings.

Change your theme

The easiest way to customize Windows 11 is by changing your theme, including your desktop background and lock screen image. Just right-click anywhere on your desktop, then click on Personalize. This will lead you to the Personalization menu, where you can preview and choose different backgrounds and themes. You can even create new themes by using images from your gallery. You can also see more themes in the Microsoft Store by clicking “Browse more”.

Use dark mode

If light or bright colors are not your thing, Windows 11 is here to the rescue. To change your desktop’s colors, right-click on your desktop, choose Personalize, and click Colors. Then, select Dark under “Choose your default Windows mode”. This changes the colors of your taskbar and Start menu. If you want to change the color of your apps from white to black, pick Dark under “Choose your default app mode”. To restore your default settings, follow the same procedure under “Choose your default app mode” but click Light.

Create virtual desktops

Having trouble separating work files from personal files? Try creating a virtual desktop. You can do this by clicking on the Task view icon on the taskbar. This will display all your open windows. Just drag any window to the “New desktop” space on the lower part of the screen to create another desktop. Repeat the process if you want to add more windows to the new desktop. To add more virtual desktops, hover over the Task view icon and click on the + sign. To remove a virtual desktop, hover over the Task view icon and click the X button on the desktop you want to delete.

Try snap layouts

Snapping is not a new feature, but Windows 11 makes it more efficient by letting you snap any app or window wherever you are on your PC. Access snap layouts by hovering over a window’s maximize button or pressing Win + Z. You can then see which layouts are available to you, and pick the one that best suits your needs.

Reorganize your Start Menu

You can also personalize how your apps are arranged on the Start menu. For one, you can rearrange applications by dragging them anywhere around the Start menu. Or, 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 even faster access to your most-used apps, right-click on an app and choose Pin to taskbar.

Disable all your notifications

Some people prefer to receive notifications, but some don’t. If you’re one of the latter and wish to never see notifications ever again, click on the gear icon on the taskbar to open Settings. Then, choose System > Notifications. From there, you can switch off whatever app notifications you don’t want popping up on your screen.

Personalize your Windows 11 PC however you like by using some or all of these options. If you want more ways to customize your device or if you need information on anything Windows 11-related, give us a call.

Slow Wi-Fi On Your Phone? Here are 5 Reasons Why!

f you’re like most people, you rely on your smartphone for a lot of things. You might use it to check your email, browse the internet, or make phone calls. So when your phone has a slow internet connection, it can be really frustrating. In this blog post, we will discuss five of the most common causes of slow internet on mobile phones and tips on how to fix these issues.

Router location

One simple yet overlooked reason, why your phone may be experiencing internet lag, is because of your Wi-Fi router’s location. Although Wi-Fi has a range of up to 230 feet, the signal gets weaker the farther you are from the router. Large objects like doors and walls situated in between your phone and the router can also weaken the transmission.

It’s recommended to place your router in a centralized location, preferably away from concrete and masonry walls or other big objects like a fireplace. As the router signal radiates from all sides, if it’s blocked by even just one large object, your Wi-Fi signal will weaken significantly and, consequently, impede your phone’s internet speed.

Wi-Fi noise

Electronic appliances typically emit wireless signals at a frequency similar to your router’s, which is 2.4 GHz. So if you live in an apartment complex or have a lot of electronic devices in your home, you may experience interference that can slow down your Wi-Fi. One way to fix this is to place your router in a central location away from other electronic devices.

You can also try changing the frequency or channel that your router is broadcasting on. To do this, you will need to log in to your router’s settings page, then look for a page or tab that says “wireless settings” or “channel.” From there, you can select a different frequency. For most routers, this will be 5 GHz. But before you do this, make sure that your phone supports 5 GHz, otherwise, it won’t be able to connect to the Wi-Fi.

Fluctuating network speed

Another reason for your phone’s slow internet connection could be fluctuating network speeds. To check whether this is the cause of slow internet speeds, ask these questions:

  • How many devices are connected to the router?
  • What are these devices using the internet for?

Increase your router’s internet bandwidth speed if there are many users and all of them are either streaming movies or downloading computer games or software updates. This will allow every phone connected to your network to enjoy faster internet speeds.

Poor VPN connection

Using a virtual private network (VPN) is a great way to improve your security and privacy when browsing the internet. But if your VPN connection is slow, it can also impact the speed of your internet connection. To fix this, try connecting to a different VPN server or switching to a different VPN protocol.

You can also try disabling your VPN. This will make your browsing experience faster, but it will also make it less secure. So only do this if you are connected to a safe network, such as your home or office Wi-Fi.

Full browser cache

Your mobile browser’s cache saves data from earlier searches in order to display faster results of similar searches in the future. Although your phone becomes more efficient for that particular search, it also makes your phone much slower when you do other things that require connecting to the internet.

You can clear your cache manually or use a cache cleaner app to get rid of useless data and optimize your phone’s internet speed. If you decide to download a cache cleaner app, make sure that it is trustworthy so you don’t accidentally download a malware-infected program.

There are many reasons for your phone’s lagging internet speed. If your business relies heavily on a speedy mobile internet connection and you’re unable to fix the problem, call our experts today. We’re always ready to help you.

MS Excel 2021 for Windows: Great new features and functions to leverage

Microsoft Excel makes it easy to create budgets, track inventory levels, and analyze sales. This software can handle huge amounts of information, making it an extremely useful tool for storing and analyzing data. No wonder Excel has become a staple in offices worldwide over the years. Its latest version, Excel 2021 for Windows, is packed with even more powerful features and functions that you can enjoy.

Features exclusive to Excel 2021 for Microsoft 365

The following new features are available for Excel for Microsoft 365, but not its long-term servicing channel (LTSC) version, which was formerly known as the “perpetual license” version.

  • Co-authoring – lets you work simultaneously with other users on the same Excel workbook and see each other’s inputs in a matter of seconds
  • Threaded comments – allows you to have better discussions with other users in an Excel workbook, thanks to the ability to reply to comments inline
  • Visibility of active co-authors – lets you see the other users who are also working with you and where they are in the workbook

XLOOKUP function

Similar to the VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, and INDEX+MATCH functions, XLOOKUP searches for an item in a range or table and returns the matching result. However, XLOOKUP is more powerful than other lookup functions since it requires only three basic parameters to perform the search:

  • The value you are looking for
  • The list that should contain the value
  • The list where the result should come from

XLOOKUP can search anywhere in the data and find the result, not just on a specified column or row like with the VLOOKUP and HLOOKUP functions. Moreover, XLOOKUP finds the exact match by default, so you don’t have to indicate “True” or “False” in the formula.

LET function

The LET function allows you to assign names to calculation results. For example, you can apply names, such as “monthlySales” and “totalSales” to an associated value, which makes formulas easier to read. The LET function supports up to 126 name/value pairs. Take note that the names work only within the scope of the LET function.

To use the LET function, you need to provide at least three parameters:

  • Name
  • Associated value
  • Calculation that uses the name and associated value pair/s

For example:

=LET(x,1,x+2) → x+2 → 1+2 → 3

6 New dynamic array functions

For the longest time, Excel allowed users to use just one formula per cell. However, this has changed with the recent introduction of dynamic arrays wherein any formula that returns an array of values automatically spills into neighboring cells.

To leverage dynamic arrays, Excel 2021 for Windows introduced six new functions:

  • FILTER – filters data based on the predefined criteria
  • SORT – sorts a cell range by a specified column
  • SORTBY – sorts a cell range by another range or array
  • UNIQUE – takes out unique values from a range of cells
  • SEQUENCE – creates a list of sequential numbers
  • RANDARRAY – creates an array of random numbers

XMATCH function

The more powerful successor to the MATCH function, XMATCH looks for a specified item in an array or range of cells and then returns the item’s relative position in vertical or horizontal ranges. It can also return a value in an array.

The XMATCH function assumes that you want an exact match, so it requires only two parameters (i.e., lookup value and lookup array) to work. However, you can add an optional third parameter to change the default matching type to “next smaller,” “next larger,” or “wildcard match.”

XMATCH has another optional parameter that allows you to indicate whether to search from the top or bottom of the lookup list, or whether to conduct a binary search on ascending or descending values.

These are just some great new features you can leverage in Excel 2021 for Windows. For more Microsoft Office productivity tips, consult our IT experts today.

 

Some Of Your Staff REALLY Want To Work From Home Permanently. Here’s How You Can Make It Happen

Remote working has really come of age in the last two years.

Many people have loved it, while others realized they preferred an office environment.

But would you hazard a guess at how many people would like to make remote working a permanent option?

According to a new report, a whopping 96% of employees want to solely work from home, even when the pandemic is over.

They’d be willing to take a pay cut to make that happen.

But wait – it gets even more shocking.

Of these people, a third said they’d be willing to sacrifice HALF of their monthly wage to do so.

Not only that, but they’d give up their health benefits and even paid time off.

Are you as shocked at those figures as we are?

In terms of work/life balance, some people have never had it better. And now that things are slowly recovering, they’re not going to give it up without a fight.

Many of your people might not want to go back to the stress, the distraction, the commuting…

And it’s likely some of them don’t want to leave their beloved pets on their own!

As an employer, giving the option to make remote or hybrid work permanent seems like an ideal solution. You’ve already seen that your people can be trusted to do a great job wherever they work. You may even have seen an increase in motivation and productivity.

Your business could even cut down on some of its fixed costs – office space is a big saving.

Of course, there’s more to consider than how much you trust your team to continue doing a great job. Or how much you could be saving on office space.

If you haven’t already done so, you’ll need to make sure that everyone’s home working set-ups are suitable.

If you’ve only had temporary work-from-home measures in place for the last 2 years, it’s time to make them official.

The first priority is to look at data security.

How do your people access your network? Do they have the right security measures installed on their devices? Are their home networks protected from unauthorized access? Can you stop their children from using company devices?

But it’s not just security that you need to consider.

Look at the collaboration tools you’re using. If your team is unlikely to be in the same place at the same time, should you invest in a better solution to make sure communication doesn’t suffer?

As well as reporting on salary sacrifices, the report also found that nearly 2 in 5 people feel ignored in video meetings.

Upgrading their equipment and devices might be the answer. Professional quality webcams and microphones can help by making sure video quality is high and that voices are heard.

Don’t forget that older laptops or desktops will need to be upgraded every few years to make sure they’re performing well and costing you less to maintain.

If you’d like any help making sure your home working setups are right for permanent remote workers, just give Net Activity a call.

You’ll Soon Be Able To View LinkedIn Profiles In Your Teams Chats

Did you know this? Microsoft isn’t just about Windows, 365 and Xbox. It also owns THE business social media platform LinkedIn.

And now the tech giant is going to bring together two of its most popular apps – LinkedIn and Teams – to help you and your people communicate better and be even more productive.

Think it’s not possible? Can Teams really bring MORE helpful features to its platform?

100% yes!

Microsoft recently announced it’s working on a new feature that will allow you to see colleagues’ LinkedIn profiles during personal chats in Teams.

The update is due to be released in March. And while it will only be available in 121 chats to start with, it’s possible that it will eventually become a feature across all chats.

That could make it easier for you to find the right people for upcoming projects, and to keep up-to-date on news from colleagues and anyone else you work with.

Microsoft bought LinkedIn back in 2016, for a massive $26 billion, to try to break into the social media space.

We’d say it’s done pretty well with that, wouldn’t you?

Thanks in huge part to the pandemic, productivity and communication tools like Teams have become a staple for businesses all across the world.

Teams makes it easy to hold video meetings, collaborate on projects, and chat with colleagues from anywhere, and on any device. Many companies would now struggle to function without it, despite a lot of workers being back in the office.

Teams currently has more than 270 million active monthly users, while LinkedIn has 810 million members in 200 countries around the world. It was only a matter of time until these two platforms joined forces!

So what could this mean for your business? How would you like to make use of this new feature? And what other features would you like to see in Teams soon? We’d love to hear your thoughts! Want to see what all the fuss is about Teams? We can help you get it set up within your business. Give us a call.

This Malware Phishing Campaign Hijacks Email Conversations

Hackers have been using social engineering tricks to get their malicious code onto the systems of unsuspecting victims. This has been happening for almost as long as the internet has been around.

It’s one of the most common tactics in use today, primarily because it’s so simple and effective.

Trial and error have shown hackers that users are more likely to trust an email if it looks like it’s part of an ongoing conversation. So, they often try to spoof that. Unfortunately, spoofing an ongoing conversation is a lot harder to do than it might first seem. As technology has advanced, they’ve hit on an even better solution.

Instead of spoofing a conversation, why not hijack one?

That’s right, hackers now have the capability to hijack a legitimate and ongoing conversation between you and another individual and lace that conversation with malware.

Since the conversation is one the user is currently having naturally, that individual will trust any links or attached files that might be a part of the conversation. That translates into a greater likelihood that those links will be clicked, or those files will be opened.

Right now the main source for this innovative attack variant is the group spreading Qakbot.

Here’s how it works:

Qakbot spreads via infected Windows computers.  The malware downloads a payload which scans for email accounts.  It finds them and steals login credentials while other automated tools are busy going through the user’s inbox and sending out phishing emails. They do this by using the “reply all” function when it finds an existing email thread.

The original message is quoted in the reply, which makes it look that much more authentic.

After the original message, the bot will append a few lines of text that contains a request to “look at an attachment” which is often a zip file.  Anyone not paying attention is bound to open the file without thinking, and you know the rest of the story.

Keep this one high on your radar, it’s particularly sneaky.

How IT Security Audits Will Boost Your Cybersecurity

Businesses of all sizes are prime targets for a cyberattack, so they must be proactive and have a cybersecurity strategy in place. To be effective, that strategy must include IT security audits. As a vital component of a cybercrime protection system, regular IT security audits can help reduce risk, strengthen controls, enhance security, and improve overall business operations.

What is an IT security audit?

An IT security audit is a thorough evaluation of the cybersecurity measures of your organization. Performing IT security audits will help you identify and assess vulnerabilities in your networks, associated devices, and applications. It involves scanning for security vulnerabilities and performing penetration tests to determine how well your IT infrastructure can defend against various cyberattacks. The results of these tests will help you customize security policies and achieve compliance.

Types of IT security audits

There are two forms of IT security audits, namely:

Internal audit

In an internal IT security audit, a company uses its own resources and auditors to conduct the assessment. The organization conducts an internal audit to determine if its systems and cybersecurity policies are compliant with its own rules and procedures.

External audit

An external audit is carried out by a third party. External audits are performed when a company needs to ensure that it’s complying with industry standards and government regulations.

Why is an IT security audit important?

An IT security audit provides a roadmap for your company’s key cybersecurity vulnerabilities. It shows where your organization is meeting important security criteria and where it doesn’t. IT security audits are essential for creating risk assessment plans and prevention strategies for businesses dealing with sensitive and confidential personal data.

What does an IT security audit cover?

During an IT security audit, every system an organization uses will be checked for weaknesses in the following areas:

Network vulnerabilities

Auditors identify vulnerabilities in any network component that cybercriminals could use to access valuable information or cause system wide damage. This includes unsecured access points, instant messages, emails, and network traffic.

Cybersecurity controls

In this part of the audit, auditors will check how effective an organization’s security controls are. This includes assessing how well the company has implemented existing policies and procedures to protect its information and infrastructure. For example, an auditor will evaluate an organization’s existing security policy on data breaches to determine if the proper measures are in place and if everyone is strictly adhering to those measures.

Data encryption

This will verify that your company has controls in place to manage the data encryption process effectively. This is to ensure that digital data is kept confidential and protected while being stored on site, in the cloud, on portable devices, and while it is in transit.

If you need help in conducting an IT security audit for your business, contact Net Activity today to see how we can help.

Protect Your Business From These Common Financial Phishing Scams

The average office worker sends and receives around 121 emails every day.

And while that sounds like a lot, you may be shocked to learn that 3 billion phishing emails are sent each day. They account for 1% of all email traffic.

What’s a phishing email? It’s an email sent by cyber criminals that pretends to be from a trusted source, such as your bank, Amazon or a delivery company.

They’re trying to get you to click on a bad link. Maybe so they can install malware (malicious software) on your computer. Or to fool you into trying to log into a fake website; inadvertently giving away your login details.

The likelihood is that your team will each receive several phishing emails every week. So it’s really important they know the warning signs to look out for.

New research has revealed that PayPal was the most spoofed business in all financial phishing emails in 2021, accounting for 37.8% of attacks. Mastercard and American Express followed behind, with 12.2% and 10% share of attacks.

It’s because PayPal is so widely used – it has 392 million active accounts right now – that scammers pretend to be the online payments giant.

At a glance, a typical phishing email really looks like it has come from the real business.

It will ask the recipient to update their details, or check for unauthorised activity. The worry that someone may have breached their account can cause people to let hackers in. Ironic, isn’t it?

Phishing is bad for anyone personally. But if hackers get into any business account, the resulting data breach can be devastating.

It’s absolutely vital that you educate all your people on the warning signs to look out for:

  • First, always check the link you’re being asked to click. Hover your mouse over the link and look at the URL. Does it look suspicious? Is the business name spelt correctly?
  • Check the address the email has been sent from. Does it look like a standard email address from the business? Or does it seem a little strange?
  • Look closely at the content of the email too. Emails from scammers will likely contain grammatical mistakes. They might not address you by name, and the layout may look slightly different to a genuine email from that company.
  • Trust your gut feeling. You might feel it’s not quite right but be unable to say why. Don’t ignore that nagging feeling.
  • If you’re ever unsure, go to your browser and type in the real website address, then log into your account that way.

How protected do you think your business is? Are you certain all members of your team would spot a scam before clicking a link?

We’d love to help you review your data security and cyber-crime awareness training. Get in touch.

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