Hidden Gems: Do You Know About These Microsoft Word Features?

Do you ever open Word and think, “I don’t know what half of these options do!”? You’re not alone. There are often new features added add to Word that users aren’t aware of but could make a big difference in their life.

For example, did you know that there is a LinkedIn powered resume helper in Word? What about an editor that you can use instead of using an add-in like Grammarly?

There is a whole treasure trove of hidden gems that a lot of users are completely unaware of because they tend to stick to the main areas of Word. 

Our goal is to help businesses and professionals get the most out of their technology and that includes streamlining modern office IT, so companies don’t suffer from app overload.

When you unlock hidden features in programs like Word, they can often take the place of things you’re doing in other programs or paid app subscriptions. That streamlining reduces waste and improves efficiency.

The average small business (less than 100 employees) uses between 40 - 79 different business applications. 

Following are a few of the most useful tools in Microsoft Word that you might not know about.

Useful MS Word Features That Many Users Don’t Realize It Has 

Resume Assistant: Get Expert Help with Your Resume 

Creating or updating a resume can be time intensive. How do you know what employers are looking for these days? What format should you use for past positions?

LinkedIn and Microsoft partnered up a few years back and the result was Word’s Resume Assistant.

Just open your resume in Word. If Word recognizes it as a resume, then the Resume Assistant will open in the right-side of the window automatically. You can also go to the Review pane and you’ll see Resume Assistant to the far right.

Type in the Role and Industry that you are pertinent to the position you’re looking for, and you’ll get all types of help in crafting your resume according to what others are doing.

Resume Assistant will show you:

• Work experience descriptions you can use for inspiration

• The top skills related to the role you input

• Open LinkedIn job opportunities that match 

You don’t have to have a LinkedIn account to use Resume Assistant.

Editor: Check Your Document for Grammar and More

A fairly recent addition to Microsoft Word is the Editor. You’ll see it designated on the home toolbar with a large pencil icon.

For those of you who’ve tried to use the Grammarly add-on for Word and found it a bit sluggish, Editor is going to be a big help. It takes Word beyond just spelling corrections to help you better refine your document as you’re creating it. 

In any document, click to open Editor and you’ll see a pane that includes the following document recommendations:

• Spelling

• Grammar

• Clarity

• Conciseness

• Formality

• Punctuation Conventions

• Vocabulary

Click into each area and you’ll find the exact text that Editor is making the recommendation for and can edit to make your document better.

Read Aloud: Have Your Text Read Back to You

It’s commonly known that it’s difficult to proofread what you’ve written yourself. If you’re the one that wrote a document, your brain will already know what a word should be and that can make you miss typos and grammar errors. 

But if there’s no one else around to ask to proofread for you, you don’t have much choice but to do it yourself.

Word’s Read Aloud feature can be a big help when it comes to proofreading. It will read highlighted text back to you so you’re “proof hearing” rather than proof reading, which can help you more easily spot a mistake.

It’s also an excellent feature to if you’re writing a speech or spoken presentation, because it will give you an idea of how your words are flowing out loud.

To use this feature, just highlight the text that you want to hear and click the Review panel, then choose Real Aloud, under the Speech tab. Your highlighted text will be read back to you (make sure you have your sound on).

Premium Templates: Enjoy Thousands More Document Templates

About half of MS Word users rely on templates to get a jumpstart on their documents. Think that you know them all by heart? You might want to look again.

When Office 365 was renamed to Microsoft 365, Microsoft also added thousands of premium templates for all the Office programs, including Word. So, the next time you get ready to start a new document, you may want to search templates first to check out all the new options for brochures, flyers, newsletters, and more.

Are You Suffering from Cloud App Overload?

Have you added so many apps over the years that you’re now suffering from overload and an expensive monthly subscription cost? Our BrainStomp experts can help you uncover features in your most used tools that can help you streamline to save time and money.

Contact us today to schedule a technology consultation! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.

New Features on iPadOS That Can Help You Get More Work Done

Apple recently rolled out a big gift for iPad users, which is an entirely updated operating system for the tablet called iPadOS. The new operating system adds a ton of productivity and use features that will make working on your iPad better. 

The initial announcement of the new OS happened last fall, but the rollout took a big longer. If you haven’t yet checked for it, you’ll want to go into settings on your iPad and check for updates. The current version is iPadOS 13.4.1 

One of the big changes over the last decade in modern office I.T. has been a move toward mobility. This includes working more on mobile devices, especially iPads and tablets which have larger screens and more versatility to do things than smaller smartphones.

87% of businesses rely on their employee’s ability to access mobile business applications from a tablet or smartphone.

What’s included in this major Apple update? We’ll go over the key productivity-related features below.

Exciting New iPadOS Features to Power Your Productivity

Do you enjoy using your iPad, but find it somewhat restricting when it comes to your work? The new iPadOS has multiple features that help free up users to do more, including making it easier to use tools like Apple Pencil.

Here’s what you can expect from the update to help you get more work done. 

Apple Pencil Improvements

One of the big productivity improvements in iPadOS is reducing the latency (i.e. lag time) of the Apple Pencil to as low as 9 milliseconds. This makes the experience more akin to writing on paper, making it less frustrating and time consuming. 

You’ll also have the ability to take a quick screenshot with Apple Pencil by dragging it from either bottom corner. You can then easily markup or email the screenshot.

Use Your iPad as an Additional Screen

With the new Sidecar feature, you have the ability to use your iPad as an extended desktop for your Mac. This allows you to see how a presentation may look in presentation mode while you’re editing it. 

Using iPad as a second screen gives you exceptional versatility to have a portable wired or wireless second screen when you need it.

Speedy Text Editing Features 

There are several text editing features in iPadOS designed to make working in documents faster and more efficient. These improve both speed and precision in a number of ways, including: 

·      Navigate long documents by dragging the scroll bar

·      Pick up the cursor and drag it where you want, it automatically snaps to lines and in between words

·      Tap and swipe to quickly select text

·      Double-tap for intelligent selection of addresses, phone numbers, and more

·      New gestures for cut, copy, paste, and undo/redo give you speed akin to keyboard shortcuts

Type Faster with Keyboard Swipe

You can now use QuickPath in the QuickType keyboard to swipe your finger from one letter to another for faster typing with no need to move your finger away from the keyboard.

If you prefer to tap to type for some work, you can do both interchangeably, even if you’re in the middle of a sentence. 

Easier File Viewing 

The new OS for iPad has a Column View that allows you to quickly browse files that are deep in nested folders by just selecting the file to get a high-resolution preview.

Ever get frustrated from too little information when viewing a file icon that requires you to open it up to see what it is? Column View helps streamline that process by giving you a rich set of metadata with details on each file you’re browsing, without needing to open each one.

More Control Over File Management

You can now create new folders on the local drive and additionally have external drive support. This allows your iPad to access files on a USB, SD card, or hard drive.

Are you working remotely and need to access a file server back at the office? iPadOS makes this possible. 

This is a significant time saver, because Instead of having to figure out the best way to get assets from another device to your iPad, you can connect to a file server at work or a home PC by using SMB from Files from your iPad directly to grab them.

Better Multitasking

The need to multitask at work is now pretty much a given. With the new iPad update, you’ll be able to do this better on your tablet. 

The update includes the ability to:

·      Use Split View to see two app windows at the same time

·      Pull up an app in a side window using Slide Over to quickly access things like email or reminders

·      Use Mac’s Expose feature, added to iPadOS, to see an overview of all your open apps

Performance Boost

Better performance means you get more done. There are several areas where Apple worked to increase speed and efficiency, including:

·      Apps launch up to 2x faster

·      Apps you get from the App Store take up as much as 50% less space

·      Face ID Unlock is up to 30% faster 

·      App updates will be as much as 60% smaller

Find the Best Ways to Integrate Mobile into Your Workflow

For mobile solutions to be as effective as possible, they need to be included in a full company technology strategy. BrainStomp can help ensure your business takes full advantage of the benefits of mobility.

Contact us today to schedule a technology consultation! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.

Tips for Smart Data Management for Remote Workers

Most offices are settling into utilizing a remote workforce since the coronavirus pandemic began. Over the last few weeks they may have sorted out their cloud solutions and have everyone using a team messaging platform like Teams to stay connected.

But what about data management?

Remember, if the data your office is creating isn’t on your on-premises server, it’s not getting backed up.

Data management and security can face a lot of challenges when data is being generated from multiple offsite locations. When your team is working outside your physical office technology infrastructure, you have to accommodate all those remote “satellite offices” at employees’ homes and ensure they’re included in your backup and data security plan. 

Start by asking questions, such as:

·      How is data being generated?

·      What cloud platforms is data being stored in?

·      Which physical devices are storing data?

·      How are documents being secured according to their classification?

·      Is all your data (no matter where it’s located) being backed up?

58% of small and medium-sized businesses are not prepared for a data loss incident.

When it comes to data management, there are two key concerns: 

1.    Data backup and recovery; and 

2.    Data leakage (when sensitive data is accidentally exposed)

We’ll go through tips on both that will help you ensure that the data your remote workforce is generating is being properly managed to prevent data loss and data leakage.

Ensure Your Data is Being Protected, No Matter Where it Resides

Adjusting to the new normal of a remote workforce, whether it’s temporary or potentially more permanent, will help your business be more resilient in the face of any future events. Should a natural disaster occur, you’ll already have systems and data management techniques in place to keep your company running remotely.

Data loss can occur any number of ways when you have employees working offsite. These include:

·      Hard drive crash

·      Ransomware infection

·      Accidental deletion

·      Software or hardware conflict

·      Cloud synching problem

·      Cloud server outage

·      Data breach of a cloud account (like Microsoft 365)

The tips below will help you put systems in place that prevent data loss and ensure all your business content is captured and secured properly for staff that is working remotely.

Put Document Security Policies in Place

Policies for document labeling and security that you had in place at your office, might not translate when you have employees working from their homes. Put together a remote document security policy that includes the proper handling and labeling procedure for confidential or “department eyes only” documents.

This helps prevent data leakage incidents which often lead to data privacy compliance violations, where sensitive data is exposed or shared accidentally because it’s not properly labeled or protected

For example, you could use a system like sensitivity labels in Microsoft 365 that can automatically apply document protection security policies based upon the label attached to a document or email.

This type of document security strategy will help ensure your most sensitive data, such as customer credit card details or R&D documents, are still being properly secured throughout your network.

Back Up Your Cloud Platforms

Most companies are able to function and still run their business remotely during the coronavirus quarantine because of cloud platforms. These services allow employees to access data and business apps from anywhere, on any device.

But often, companies don’t properly back up their data contained in the cloud. They mistakenly think that by virtue of being in a cloud service that it’s also being backed up. 

However, that’s not the case. Cloud providers, such as Microsoft and Google, recommend that data in their services be backed up by a third-party solution to prevent data loss.

Use a cloud backup and recovery program designed for cloud service backup to ensure all that data is being protected.

Have Employees Store Files in a Central Location

If employees are all storing company data on their computer hard drives, you could end up losing that data or having it at risk of a breach. Data created by remote workers may also be missing from central file access areas. 

For example, someone trying to locate the latest copy of a sales brochure may not find it on your company server or cloud storage because a remote employee saved it to their hard drive and forgot to upload it.

Give your remote employees specific instructions on where all files should be stored, whether it’s through a remote connection to your server or in a cloud system like OneDrive or Google Drive. Then make sure that the central location is included in your backup and recovery strategy.

Back Up Employee Devices, Just in Case

Inevitably, when your team is working remotely, there will be times that data is stored on the computer they’re using at home. There may be an internet outage, or they may have trouble uploading a large document and store it locally until they can get IT help. 

Don’t take a chance that important data could be lost. Include your employee devices in a cloud backup plan that captures all company data. 

If employees are using their personal devices, they can simply store any work documents in a specific folder and the company’s cloud backup can include just that folder.

PS: Don’t forget mobile devices, like tablets or smartphones that employees may also be using for creating and storing business data.

Try to Keep Communication Centralized

Part of your business data includes communications. These could be texts or messages between employee departments or your team and your customers. It also includes emails and any company related calls.

Use a platform like Microsoft Teams or another type of “all-in-one” VoIP solution that can capture multiple types of communications (messages, emails, phone calls) and keep them all in one place so you don’t lose any important communication trails.

Get Help with an All-Encompassing Backup Solution 

BrainStomp can help your business with a streamlined backup solution that captures all your data, no matter where it lives, and doesn’t drag down productivity.

Contact us today to learn more! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.

How to Make Your Home Office Look Professional for Online Meetings

In the last few weeks, millions of employees have had to make the transition to working from home to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. In person meetings have gone online, causing a significant increase in the use of video conferencing to keep teams connected with each other and their business clients. 

This has led to some embarrassing Zoom and Skype calls for people that are not used to having their home showcased in video calls. 

Things like poor lighting, children’s toys, and unmade beds in the background of your video calls can definitely make an impact on how people perceive you and your company.

But you don’t have to dread those video meetings. With a few modern office IT tips you can easily create a home office space that looks great for your online video meetings and puts you in a professional light.

Tips for Great Looking Video Calls at Home 

Think of some of the video calls that you’ve been on with colleagues or customers. When you see someone sitting on a sofa with used dishes on a table next to them, you’re immediately drawn to that rather than the meeting conversation. 

A “bad look” in the background of a video call doesn’t just mean the others on the call are unconsciously judging you, it’s also often keeping the call from being as productive as it could be due to unneeded distractions.

Here are some tips for creating a professional online look for video meetings from your home office. 

Set Up a Specific Work Desk/Table/Area 

Many people use laptops because it allows them to work from anywhere in their home - a sofa, backyard patio, kitchen table. But when you’re going to be on video calls from home, you want to designate a single area for those meetings, not give people a tour of your home whenever they dial in.

Look for one spot in your house or apartment where you can control the environment behind you. It doesn’t have to be a large space, just a corner of a room that you can use each time you’re on a call, so the background remains consistent. 

Don’t Leave Too Much Space Behind You

Your home office space should have a wall within a few feet behind you. Aim for about a maximum of 8-10 feet. If you have too much area that can be seen in the background, i.e. a kitchen, it’s distracting and there is a bigger chance that a person or pet in your household is going to walk behind you during a call. 

Pay Attention to Lighting

Poor lighting during a video call can make you look too dark, like you’re sitting in a cave, or be way too bright and stark.

Natural lighting is the best if you have the option to use a nearby window. It’s often recommended to take photos in natural light because it doesn’t cause severe shadows.

Whether you’re using a natural source or artificial light, you want to sit facing a light source.  Soft, directional light is best. You’ll often hear actors talk about “lighting me right” when complementing how they look in a film.  

You can find more tips on video conference lighting here.

Position Your Camera Correctly

You don’t want to be too close to the video camera, where your face is taking up the whole screen. You also don’t want to have the camera at a strange angle. 

What can often happen when people are using a laptop to video conference is that the camera will be below their chin, giving a strange upshot of their face.

You want the camera to be eye level. So, you may need to use a stand or some books to raise up your laptop camera.

Keep the Background Simple and Clutter-Free

Less is more when it comes to the background of your home office during a video call. You don’t want so many trinkets sitting on a bookcase behind you that people are looking at them instead of paying attention.

Having just a few pictures on a wall behind you or a bookcase that’s not too cluttered work well for a professional looking backdrop.

You may also want to add a plant for a touch of warmth and pop of color in front of a white or beige wall.

Be careful about going too simple. For instance, a plain white wall behind you in a video conference can make it look like you’re getting ready to pose for a mugshot.

Don’t Sit on the Couch

Sitting on a couch for a video conference doesn’t give the impression that you’re working very hard, even if you are.

An office chair would be optimal, but if you don’t have one at home, a stool or kitchen chair can give you the height you want and not look like you’re getting ready to watch Netflix.

Be Careful of Those Virtual Backgrounds

Many types of video conference software offer a fun option where you can use a photo as your background. “Fun” is the key word here. That may be fun when you’re chatting with family and friends, but they don’t look very professional during a video meeting for work. 

Often there are distracting pixilated areas as you’re moving your head that ruin the effect. They end up being more distracting during professional calls than they are helpful.

Do “Screen Tests” of Your Video Call Look 

Once you have your background, chair, lighting, etc. where you think they need to be, video conference with a friend or family member and do a “screen test.” This will help you find any last-minute optimizations and make sure you’re completely comfortable for your next work video call.

Get Help with the Video Hardware & Software You Need

Is your business struggling to find a sweet spot with the right video conferencing solutions? BrainStomp can help by evaluating your needs and letting you know which software would be your best options.

Schedule a free consultation today! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.

VPN in Layman’s Terms & Why It’s Vital to Use One While Working Remotely

Millions of company networks may be at increased risk right now due to the unexpected transition to having their employees work from home during the coronavirus outbreak.

Businesses that worked hard to get a secure technology infrastructure in place at their office, now find it fractured. Employees working remotely are often on a mix of personal devices and connecting to the office through less secure home networks.

There are a number of dangers when connecting to cloud platforms, office computers and servers through a home network. These include:

·      Consumer routers typically have fewer security safeguards than business routers 

·      Home networks often have multiple higher risk devices sharing them (doorbell cameras, teen’s gaming computers, etc.). 

·      Hackers are targeting home networks due to so many employees being sent home to work during the COVID-19 emergency.

Routers and smart security cameras make up 90% of hacked IoT devices.

One of the best ways to make sure your company’s data security remains strong when employees on home networks are connecting to company assets is to use a virtual private network (VPN).

Business VPN’s Explained

Using a VPN adds an important layer of security to the data transmitted over an internet connection. Instead of connecting directly from your computer through your network to the internet, the VPN is acting as a middleman. 

·      Normal Internet connection: Your device > Internet

·      VPN Internet connection: Your device > VPN server > Internet

Why add the VPN middleman? Because it encrypts your communications, protecting them from being compromised by a hacker who has broken into a home network. A VPN also secures your online session if you’re connected to a free public Wi-Fi.

The “private” part of the virtual private network is the fact that your IP address is kept private.

Normally when you’re connecting to the internet, the sites you visit will read your IP address, which roughly identifies your location. The IP address will typically be assigned by your internet service provider. 

When using a VPN, you’re given a choice of servers to use to connect to the internet. The IP address of that VPN server is the one that websites see, not your personal home IP address.

How Do Employees Use a VPN?

Using a VPN is simple for employees. First, the company signs up for a business VPN account with a trusted provider. Then they can assign employee devices to their VPN account. 

Employees simply download the VPN application onto the devices they use for work. Sign in with their company account details and turn the VPN on. 

This will automatically direct their internet connection through the secure VPN server, so their data transmissions are encrypted and protected.

Advantages of Using a Business VPN

There are several advantages for businesses that use VPNs, both during this pandemic, and anytime.

Keeps All Connections Secure

It’s not generally possible for a business to control every network that remote or mobile employees are using to connect to business apps and data. A VPN gives them blanket coverage for all connections, despite the security level of their current wireless connection.

Business VPNs use enterprise-level encryption to keep hackers from being able to intercept data transmissions.

Additional Web Protection through DNS Filtering

Most business VPNs include critical DNS filtering to help combat phishing attacks. DNS filtering looks at the URLs that a user is visiting and checks for malicious sites before directing your browser. 

This is an important protection against phishing emails that use hyperlinks directing users to sites that download malicious code on their device as soon as the page is loaded. DNS filtering can block those malicious web pages. 

Servers Designed to Improve Speed 

VPN providers use multiple servers placed throughout the world to offer the lowest latency (lag time) and best speeds that they can for online connections. Users can be routed through the best VPN for them based upon their location.

The speed comes from the fact that some VPN servers can translate domain addresses faster than home ISP’s. This results in faster connections to cloud applications and when browsing online. 

Protect Your Cloud Business Apps

You can connect a business VPN to your cloud apps – Office 365, Salesforce, etc. – to create a secure access point that keeps unauthorized users from accessing your cloud data.

This secure access point then allows you to control which users can access which cloud applications. The VPN also allows you to monitor cloud access traffic, which can help you spot any strange behavior that may suggest an attempted attack.

Easy to Deploy 

It’s quick and easy to deploy a VPN throughout your organization to protect all your employee connections at once. Accounts can be set up in minutes and all employees need to do is download the app, sign in, and turn it on.

That blanket of protection is critical when you have the dual risk of multiple remote workers and hackers trying to take advantage of them.

Need Help Getting Started with a Business VPN?

You can focus on running your business and BrainStomp will ensure your operations and remote workers stay secure. 

Contact us today to get set up with a secure VPN! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.

Is a Remote Work Program Right for Your Company?

In the just last five years, remote workers have gone from a rare company phenomenon to something that’s much more common to run across. The combination of cloud services enabling remote workers and virtual freelancers, has make telecommuting a trend that is reshaping businesses around the world. 

Between 2005 and 2018, the number of employees working from home has grown by 173%, and as of 2018, 4.7 million US workers worked from home at least part-time.

Flex-work programs that allow employees to work from home either part of all of the time are very popular with workers but can also have several benefits for employers as well. 

But just because telecommuting is a growing trend, does that make it right for your business? How do you ensure productivity stays up when people aren’t in an office environment? How should you structure your office IT to accommodate remote workers?

While a retail clerk or truck driver might not be able to telecommute, as much as 50% of the US workforce has a job that is compatible with at least partial remote work.

If you’ve been wondering whether this is a good idea for your business or how to go about setting up a remote worker program, read on for some clarity.

What Are the Benefits of Remote Workers?

In order for a business to seriously consider allowing employees to work remotely, they often want to know how it’s going to impact their bottom line. Is it going to cost them more in administration costs or less due to fewer space and equipment needs? 

The benefits that companies can see when they begin a remote worker program can come from a variety of areas. 

Cost Savings

Companies save on average $11,000 a year per remote employee. The employee themselves can also save anywhere from $2,000 to $7,000 annually.

Employer cost savings add up from a number of areas, including: 

·      Needing less physical office space

·      Fewer desk, chairs, other furnishings to buy

·      Electricity and other office utilities

·      Fewer days off and sick days taken (less need for temporary help)

·      Savings from other office related expenses (providing coffee, etc.)

Productivity Improvement

One of the biggest fears that employers have is that their employees won’t work as hard when they’re working from home, but statistics show that the opposite is true.

Remote workers have far fewer interruptions from people stopping by their desk, asking for a “quick favor,” etc. and many don’t want to lose the ability to work from home, so they put in additional effort to ensure that their employers don’t feel their work is lagging behind. 

Statistic show that: 

·      53% of remote workers are willing to work overtime, as opposed to 28% of office workers.

·      Employees that telecommute are 35-40% more productive than those that work in the office.

·      82% of employees have lower stress levels working at home than they do in the office.

Employee Retention & Morale

In a competitive hiring landscape, attracting and retaining top talent can be more challenging. Employees see the opportunity to work remotely as a major perk and it’s one that not only can attract them to a company, but also keep them from leaving once they’re there. 

76% of employees are more willing to stay with their employer if they have the flexibility of remote working. 

What Do I Need to Set Up a Successful Remote Work Program?

Just letting your employees work from home without a plan in place or the technology tools needed can be a recipe for disaster. In order to have a telecommuting option for your staff that garners all those great stats on cost savings and productivity, you need to take certain steps to ensure success. 

Put the Right Cloud Tools in Place

It goes without saying that in order for employees to access their work, cloud software is the way to go. It allows them to access their work from any location and the company can retain control over work product that can be stored in a cloud platform, like Office 365, rather than having it on an employee-owned computer.

You also want to make sure you’re using a communication tool like Microsoft Teams or Slack that enable real-time, channeled communications that keep everyone as connected as if they were in the next office. Features like the ability to put an “at lunch” status up clear up confusion when people aren’t working side by side.

Create a Work Hours Policy

Should a remote worker be available the same hours that they are when at the office or can their work be done at any time? Make sure you’re clear about your work hours policy so there is no confusion and the transition to working remotely goes smoothly.

Also, ensure employees know to take breaks and lunch per any employer local, federal, or state guidelines.

Ensure IT Security for Remote Connections 

Network security can be tricky when you have employees using home networks to login to your business apps and data.  

Make sure you work with your IT provider to update your IT infrastructure to secure offsite devices and the way they are connecting to your business data.

Evaluate Hardware Needs

If your employee is using their home computer, can it handle the same applications as their work desktop? Do they have the right headset they need to take customer calls over VoIP when telecommuting?

Make sure you’re setting up your staff for remote working success by giving them the hardware support they need to handle all the same tasks that they do at the office.

Need Help Setting Up a Remote Work Infrastructure?

BrainStomp can help you with security and cloud solutions to support a remote working program that’s a win for both you and your employees.

Schedule a free consultation today! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.

These Two Microsoft Security Features Can Greatly Improve Data Security & Compliance

In today’s digital world, file security has changed dramatically. In the “olden days,” you could lock files away in a filing cabinet locked in a separate room with a passcode. But now files are electronic and easily sharable online, requiring completely different security strategies.

The ease of online communication has also led to more challenges when it comes to compliance with data privacy or financial regulations. Those in the financial industry, especially, can find it harder to keep specific departments from interacting in a world of instant chat and screensharing. 

Have you been trying to come up with modern office IT solutions for document security and compliance?

If you’re using Office 365, then you may already have the solution.

There are two key features in the platform, one that’s been available for a while and one currently rolling out now, that address both these areas of company security to streamline office procedures and make safeguards more automated.

Using Microsoft Sensitivity Labels

The first feature we’ll discuss is Sensitivity Labels, which is widely available in Office 365 and continues to get updated to add more capabilities.  

There are major differences in how you want to have your staff handle security for a sales brochure as opposed to a spreadsheet containing trade secrets. But if your system can’t tell the difference as far as security goes, how can you ensure they aren’t both handled by your staff in the same way?

That’s the purpose of Sensitivity Labels. These are labels that you can add to Office documents and emails that then come with document handling guidelines that your administrator has put into place.

For example, you might have a sensitivity label of “Public” on your sales brochure that allows it to be emailed, shared from OneDrive and basically has no restrictions on use. 

For the spreadsheet containing trade secrets, you can set a sensitivity label of “Confidential” that could stop the Excel document from being copied, shared online, or emailed, and add a watermark to the document stating handling procedures.

You can set the label classification types that you want and the automatic handling parameters that go along with them. Then whenever an employee creates a Word, Excel or PowerPoint document or an email, they can manually apply the Sensitivity Label, or it can be applied automatically by the system based upon document/email content. 

With Sensitivity Labels, you can:

·      Encrypt and watermark content

·      Protect content across different platforms and devices

·      Prevent copying, attaching, and otherwise prevent sensitive content from being leaked

·      Protect content even if it’s in a 3rd party app, like Salesforce or Dropbox.

·      Generate document usage reports

·      Prevent content from being deleted

Administrative features allow admins to require that users add a Sensitivity Label to a document or email when they create it. Default labels can also be added to all content and admins can require a justification before a label is changed. 

An upcoming feature rolling out in 2020 is automatic Sensitivity Labels being applied to documents stored in SharePoint and OneDrive based upon scanned document content.

Information Barriers for Compliance Help

Microsoft created Information Barriers as a way to help companies that need to silo communications due to particular compliance needs.

It was first created as an answer to financial companies that need to comply with certain FINRA regulations, such as this one that restricts communications within a company to prevent conflict of interest.

But, it’s a helpful tool for anyone that needs to restrict communication between departments. Such as only allowing your R&D department to instant message with your product development department, but not sales department.

Information Barriers currently impacts communications in Microsoft Teams, and an expansion to SharePoint sites is currently in private preview.

To access Information Barriers, you need to have one of the following: 

·      Microsoft 365 E5

·      Office 365 E5

·      Office 365 Advanced Compliance

·      Microsoft 365 E5 Information Protection and Compliance 

What Information Barriers does is allow you to restrict several types of communications within your Teams application. It can be done per individual or per group.

The goal is to reduce conflicts of interest in certain organizations and to help prevent data leakage (where sensitive data is shared accidentally).

The types of restrictions you can put into place in the Microsoft Teams app using Information Barriers are:

·      Ability to search for a certain user

·      Ability to add a member to a team

·      Starting a chat session with someone

·      Screensharing during an online meeting

·      Inviting someone to join a meeting or group chat

·      Placing a call to someone through Teams

An extremely helpful benefit of Information Barriers is that it can be used with Guest Users as well. So, if you have a vendor temporarily communicating with a certain department using your Teams platform, you could restrict them to only have the ability to interact with that specific team in your organization.

Looking for Customized Compliance & Data Security Solutions? 

Office 365 has several customizations that can reduce administrative time while improving your organization’s security. BrainStomp can help you take full advantage of them!

Schedule a free consultation today! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.

What's the Benefit of Upgrading Our Office from Office 365 to Microsoft 365?

Office 365 has become the most popular cloud program on the market by user count and about 1 in 5 corporate employees around the world are using the cloud platform. 

One of the reasons this cloud service is so popular is because it includes multiple applications to power modern office I.T., such as the main Microsoft suite of Office products (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint), plus collaborative and cloud tools like Teams and OneDrive.

So, a lot of the attraction of Office 365 comes from the way it packages several tools together to provide more value from a single subscription. Depending upon the version you use, it can also include SharePoint, Exchange, Stream, and other useful applications.

Looking to top themselves and offer even more value to businesses, in August 2017, Microsoft launched another subscription service called Microsoft 365.

Some of the questions that business customers immediately started wondering include: 

·      Is Microsoft 365 an entirely different platform?

·      What’s the difference between “Office” and “Microsoft” 365?

·      Why should I upgrade to Microsoft 365?

We’ll go through the answers to each of those below to help you understand the benefits of upgrading to Microsoft 365 and what additional features it offers.

Is Microsoft 365 an Entirely Different Platform?

Microsoft 365 is not a completely different platform than Office 365, rather it’s a bundle. Just like some electronic stores will bundle a computer with a monitor and give you one price for both, Microsoft 365 bundles Office 365 with additional software. 

The Microsoft 365 bundle includes:

·      Windows 10 (either Pro or Enterprise)

·      Office 365 (either Business Premium or Enterprise)

·      Microsoft Intune (mobile device manager)

·      Advance security features

The price difference between Office 365 and Microsoft 365 will vary according the version you’re currently using, but if you’re using Office 365 Business Premium ($12.50/user/month) and upgrade to Microsoft 365 ($20/user/month), it will be an additional $7.50/user/month for the added bundle features.

What’s the Difference Between “Office” and “Microsoft” 365?

Microsoft has been expanding their umbrella to reflect the expanse of their products (Azure, Windows, etc.) and go beyond only being synonymous with their Office products.

The use of “Microsoft 365” reflects the fact that Office 365 is being bundled with other Microsoft products and is an upgrade.

Another recent change they made was to rename Office 365 Secure Score to Microsoft Secure Score and expand its capabilities to Windows security scoring as well as Office 365 security. So, this appears to be a strategic branding decision to move to more “Microsoft” named products and services.

Why Should I Upgrade to Microsoft 365?

If you’re already enjoying your Office 365 subscription, you may be wondering why you should pay the additional $7.50 per user to upgrade. 

Here are a few reasons that upgrading to Microsoft 365 can be a good value proposition for your business.

Mobile Device Security

The use of mobile devices at work has skyrocketed in the last 5-10 years, meaning more work product is being created and accessed from mobile devices. For most offices this means an employee-owned mobile device, which presents several security challenges. 

Approximately 60% of employees use smartphones for work, and that number continues to increase. Companies that don’t have a way to manage mobile connectivity to business data are at risk of a data breach. Some of the challenges of employee mobile device security include: 

·      Mobile devices are often connected to unsecure, public Wi-Fi.

·      Malware is increasingly being targeted at mobile devices.

·      Employee phones are used for both personal and work.

·      Revoking data access can be difficult if an employee leaves the company suddenly.

A major addition to the Microsoft 365 bundle is their mobile device management platform, Intune. It allows companies to easily administer a bring your own device (BYOD) or company-owned mobile phone program and keep control of data access for improved security.

Some of the advantages of using Intune (which by itself starts at about $6/user/month) are:

·      Ability to remotely lock and wipe a device

·      Reporting on mobile access to company apps and data

·      Ability to apply security policies across all devices (PC and mobile)

·      Works with both Android and iOS devices

·      Configure automatic updates for security

·      Add or revoke access remotely from a central control panel

Advanced Security Features

Microsoft 365 also includes some advanced security features that can improve your cybersecurity strategy. This includes Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection, which is designed to protect against phishing attacks with email protections, as well as defend against ransomware and zero-day threats.

Some of the other added security features you’ll have with Microsoft 365 include:

·      Control access to company information through “Do Not Copy” and “Do Not Forward” file designations. 

·      Pre-breach threat resistance with Windows Defender Exploit Guard

·      Enable unlimited cloud archive and long-term preservation for email archiving

Learn More & Get Help Upgrading to Microsoft 365

BrainStomp can answer all your questions about Microsoft 365 and the value an upgrade can provide to your business. We can also help you smoothly upgrade your subscription and ensure you take advantage of all the new features.

Schedule a free cloud consultation today! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.

4 Reasons to Consider an AV Huddle Space to Facilitate Team Connections

A significant trend has transformed offices over the last decade. Cloud connectivity and the continued improvement of internet connections have made offices more virtual and mobile.

Thanks to technology, you don’t even need a physical office to run a successful business anymore. Phones, business apps, and video conferencing can all be done using cloud solutions. This has also opened up the capability to use a remote workforce, increasing talent pools and overall employee productivity. 

Currently about 66% of U.S. companies use remote workers either part or full-time.

But with the ability to connect with remote employees and clients via the internet, comes the challenge of doing it in a way that’s efficient and doesn’t leave people feeling out of the loop if they’re not at your physical office.

This convergence of the ability to connect remotely and the need to do it effectively has led to the rise of Huddle Spaces.

Huddle spaces are designed to be an easy to use and spontaneous way to professionally connect to other team members for a video meeting or do things like conduct an online product training session with a client. 

How Do Huddle Spaces Differ from Conference Rooms?

Large conference rooms set up with audio-visual equipment often can set a more formal tone when you just want to enable a quick video conversation. They also are often booked in advance, meaning they’re not usually available for a spontaneous meeting.

Also, many small companies don’t have the space to dedicate to a large conference room for video conferencing, so employees end up holding video chats at their desk, where there can be distracting visuals and sounds.

Huddle spaces are designed to take up a small area, which can be a small room or an alcove or part of a room. They’re built to accommodate about 1-5 participants in a video conference and have partitions that can minimize any visual or audio distractions.

Their small size allows companies to easily create more than one huddle space so they can be available without reservation to facilitate fluid and effective connections.

The Benefits of Setting Up Huddle Spaces at Your Office

You often hear people say that while phone and email are great, there is nothing like a face-to-face connection. The great thing about video conferencing is that you can still get that without needing to travel across the country.

Huddle spaces are designed to facilitate that face-to-face connection more naturally.  

For example, if you’re collaborating with another team member in a different city on a PowerPoint presentation and have some great ideas about how to position your value statement, you can easily move your collaboration to a video conference using a huddle space, just as you would stop by someone’s desk to brainstorm. The spontaneous video connection helps make interactions more dynamic, just as they are in person.

Here are several reasons to consider setting up your own AV huddle space for your office. 

Keeps Your Remote Team Better Connected

Companies save an average of $11,000 per year per each part-time remote employee. Remote workers are also known to have higher productivity and take less time off than their office working counterparts.

But the challenge is keeping your team as connected when they’re not in the office. Huddle spaces make it simple to have a quick collaborative meeting “on the fly,” which helps your remote workers feel more connected to your team in the office and encourages important collaboration. 

Easy to Use

Huddle spaces are typically set up with a screen, conferencing software, webcam and audio input. Rather than spending precious time trying to figure out how to connect everything, huddle spaces are designed so you can just sit down, click a button, and connect instantly. 

Because they’re not used for anything but video conferencing, they’re always ready to go when you need them and don’t require extensive set up. 

Low Cost

If you need a professional-looking area to video conference with clients but can’t afford to designate an entire room as an AV space, huddle spaces give you an inexpensive option.

Because they’re designed for just 1-5 people and require minimal equipment due to being dedicated to video conferencing only, they’re much less costly to set up than an entire AV setup in a large conference room.

More Professional Than Your Desk 

Have you ever been on a video conference with someone and there was some type of distracting poster or photo on the wall behind them or you could overhear their co-workers at the next desk? 

Video conferencing at your desk can be less professional looking, especially if you have an open office plan. Huddle spaces give you a backdrop that’s always professional and designed to limit ambient sound that could distract from your meeting.

If you often meet with clients by video chat, you’ll find huddle spaces make those conferences much easier and you don’t have to worry about cleaning up any empty cups left on your desk before a call.

Discuss Your Dream Huddle Space with BrainStomp

Wondering what a huddle space would look like at your office? BrainStomp can help you find the best location and design for an effective AV huddle space so you can make the most out of your team connections.

Schedule a free AV consultation today! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.

How Your Paycheck Could be Stolen Using a Direct Deposit Email Scam

Phishing tactics have become more sophisticated over the years and often one tactic feeds into another one.

For example, a scam email to gain access to your email credentials, may then allow a fraudster to send your HR Department a legitimate looking email asking them to change the account for your paycheck’s direct deposit .

At the same time, the scammer could be sending out tons of phishing emails to your coworkers and other contacts from your email to get them to click open a phishing link, that they’ll be much more likely to trust because it’s coming from someone they know. Internal emails also tend to have an easier time getting past business cybersecurity defenses. 

This tactic is referred to as Business Email Compromise (BEC), and according to the FBI, it’s a $26 billionscam and has been reported in all 50 U.S. states and 177 countries. 

Phishing attacks that employ BEC can wreak all types of havoc, including planting ransomware on a network and gaining access to critical company files. But perhaps the most personal type of attack is one that steals employee paychecks.

The cost of payroll diversion scams increased over 815% between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019.

Payroll diversion scams have been on the FBI’s radar for a while. They were responsible for total reported losses of over $8.3 million between January 1, 2018 and June 30, 2019. 

We’ll explain how this scam works next and how your HR team can help prevent falling victim to it. 

Tactics Used for the Payroll/Direct Deposit Scam

The payroll direct deposit scam is generally al two-step process. The first step targets users with phishing emails designed to steal their email login credentials. 

These can look like SharePoint file sharing requests that take you to a spoofed Microsoft Office 365 login page or can be a fake warning pretending to be from your web/email hosting company saying there’s been a compromise and you need to log in to change your password.

The goal of step one is to gain access to employee email credentials so the hackers can send emails as you from your email account. 

Step two targets your HR or accounting department, whichever is responsible for employee direct deposit paperwork. The email will ask how to change their direct deposit account and it will appear legitimate because it’s coming from the employee’s hacked email account.

Most offices will honor the request and send the employee information or an online link that allows them to change their direct deposit bank account. Often it can be one or two payrolls before the employee asks where their paycheck is, and by that time the company is out a lot of money.

The average dollar loss per each complaint is $7,904, which is a significant amount for any company to divert when it comes to the pay employees are counting on. 

There’s been a disturbing upward trend in payroll diversion using BEC, with incidents spiking significantly at the end of 2018 and throughout 2019, as illustrated in the FBI graph below. It remains a major threat for companies to watch out for in 2020. 

Ways to Protect Your Company from the Direct Deposit Scam

The direct deposit scam hurts both employees and their companies. The employee can be without their paycheck for several weeks, during the time the scam is discovered, and replacement payroll can be issued. The company then ultimately bears the cost of the mis-diverted funds.

Protecting your company from falling victim to this scam takes a multi-layered approach, as do most good cybersecurity policies. Here are suggested tactics to employ to stop this scam from hurting your business and employees.

Use Secondary Factors of Authentication for Change Requests

Using another way to verify that a direct deposit change request is legitimate can help you stop it in its tracks. This could be a simple phone call or face-to-face with an employee to ensure they in fact made the payroll change request.  

Making this secondary factor a security policy and including it in your manuals for those handling direct deposit administration will help make sure it’s done every time as a standard practice. 

Train Employees on Phishing Awareness

While fake direct deposit requests can be sent from fake emails, they’re much more likely to succeed when sent from an employee’s legitimate email address. Scammers know this, which is why compromising a business email account is usually the first step in the process.

This compromise is done via phishing tactics, so regular ongoing training for your employees on how to spot phishing and what to do if they spot a questionable email can go a long ways towards stopping the scam at step one.

Employ Anti-Phishing and Spam Protections

Using security apps with advanced threat protection can help keep dangerous phishing emails from getting into user inboxes, or at the very least block most of them. Employ apps that can backstop your users, including those with web protection that will immediately alert them of a fake login page before they enter their credentials.

Schedule a Security Audit Today to Ensure You’re Prepared

A security audit from BrainStomp will review the cybersecurity policies that you have in place, let you know of any potential vulnerabilities, and suggest fixes to make sure your business is protected from scammers, data breaches, and other online threats.

Schedule a free security consultation today! Call 260-918-3548 or reach out online.