4 ways Microsoft 365 is improving the experience for Mac users

4 ways Microsoft 365 is improving the experience for Mac users

by | Dec 15, 2020 | Microsoft 365, Office 365, Technology, Tips and Tricks

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

In this atypical year, many of us have discovered a new sense of appreciation for our computers as critical tools to get work done. Now more than ever, we are all looking for new ways to be productive on our laptops and desktops. At Microsoft, we are committed to delivering great Microsoft 365 experiences that help our customers work easier and faster on their favorite devices. With this in mind, we want to share some of the latest Microsoft 365 innovations that can make you even more productive on a Mac.

Universal app support for Macs with M1 is here

We are excited to announce that starting today we are releasing new versions of many of our Microsoft 365 for Mac apps that run natively on Macs with M1. This means that now our core flagship Office apps—Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote—will run faster and take full advantage of the performance improvements on new Macs, making you even more productive on the latest MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini. The new Office apps are Universal, so they will continue to run great on Macs with Intel processors. The apps are not only speedy, but they also look fantastic as they have been redesigned to match the new look of macOS Big Sur. Here is a peek at Outlook on the new 13-inch MacBook Pro.

If you have automatic updates turned on, you will start to receive these updates today. Otherwise, you can go to the Mac App Store and click the Updates tab, or with Microsoft AutoUpdate, you can go to your Office app’s Help menu and choose Check for Updates. Plus, find more commonly asked questions on our support page.

With more than 115M daily active users, Teams has become a critical part of the way many people are navigating the current situation. Teams allows you to meet, chat, call, and collaborate all in a single app. And, when people work in Teams, they all get the full breadth and depth of Microsoft 365. Microsoft Teams is currently available in Rosetta emulation mode on Macs with M1 and the browser. We are working on universal app support for M1 Macs and will share more news as our work progresses. Download the Teams app for your Mac here now.

Microsoft 365 experiences made for Mac

Over the past months, we have redesigned the experiences in our flagship apps for Mac with a focus on simplicity to improve ease of use. The new Outlook for Mac looks great with a redesign that matches the new look of macOS Big Sur, and an updated Office Start experience for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for Mac that incorporates the Fluent UI design system. This means that Microsoft 365 apps enable you to be more focused with immersive experiences that are easier to use right from the first screen. Experiences that feel both unmistakably Microsoft 365 and include elements that are native to the look of macOS so they are also unmistakably made for Mac. The new Office Start experience will be available next month.

Microsoft PowerPoint presentation themes.

We continue to learn how customers want to use our products through continued feedback. So, thank you to each and every one of you who have shared your experiences with us. Today we are pleased to announce support for iCloud accounts in the new Outlook for Mac. This will enable you to organize work and personal emails, contacts, and calendars together in one app so it is easier for you to stay connected to what matters. We will start to roll this out using the new Outlook for Mac in the coming weeks.

Work your way

Another area of focus is to make our Microsoft 365 apps work the way you do. Through many new innovations on our Mac apps, our goal is to help you get work done in more simple and intuitive ways.

Tell Me is a search box that quickly gets you to the Office tools you need or actions you want to take by just typing what you are looking for in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote for Mac. Microsoft Search in the new Outlook for Mac allows you to type out your query or question using language you use every day to find emails, events, and files—no fancy syntax needed. These capabilities help simplify how you use Microsoft 365 apps to achieve more and are now available to all Mac users.

A commonly used productivity hack is to use your phone to capture images of important information you want to work on. With Data from Picture, you can take a photo of a table directly on your iPhone and turn it into data you can edit in Excel for Mac. This handy new feature uses Continuity Camera on your Mac and is also available now.

Voice input is a growing part of our digital lives and can be a great way to simplify your workflow. A new dictation toolbar with voice commands for creating content with your voice is coming to Word and Outlook for Mac. In addition, to help you check spelling, correct grammar, and get writing style suggestions, we will enable Microsoft Editor in Word for Mac. We plan to make these updates available to customers with access to Microsoft 365 for Insiders in early 2021.

New ways to work together

The shift to remote work highlights the need for teams to collaborate with agility, while ensuring sensitive data stays secure and meets compliance requirements. Our Microsoft 365 app teams have been busy getting modern collaboration and compliance capabilities ready so you can work from home more effectively on your Mac.

Sharing your calendars in Outlook with your co-workers helps you manage your time more efficiently. By giving access to participants’ calendars through simplified permissions, planning meetings and events is quick and easy. Based on the Microsoft sync technology and connected architecture, Outlook can provide reliable and faster synchronization of calendar events across Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android, and Web, keeping you on track of your time your way. The new Outlook for Mac will support shared calendars for customers subscribed to the Office Insider Mac Beta Channel in the first months of next year.

When creating new content as a team, the ability to collaborate around documents and presentations becomes especially valuable when your team is not in the same location. The new modern commenting experience in Word for Mac enables a contextual view of comments that allows you to focus on your content without missing active comments by contributors and reviewers. Modern commenting also includes improved @mentions in PowerPoint and Word for Mac that make it easier to reply to comments. The new @mentions experience is available now in PowerPoint for enterprise customers. Modern commenting for Word is in the Office Insider Beta Channel now and coming to Current Channel Preview in February 2021.

Have you ever collaborated with someone in a worksheet and suddenly your view changes and you are unable to finish your work? This can often happen when an active collaborator adds filters or sorts the data in a table of a shared worksheet. Excel sheet view is a new way to create customized views to sort and filter your data without disrupting what others see. This capability is an example of customer-driven product improvement and is now available on Excel for Mac.

Last, but certainly not least, Microsoft Information Protection sensitivity labels allow you to classify and protect your organization’s data with minimal effort through manual and automatic content labeling. Manual labeling is available on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook for Mac. Automatic labeling is coming to these same apps for Microsoft 365 E5 customers in early 2021.

We are excited about the Microsoft 365 innovations we are delivering for our Mac user community and would love to hear your feedback about your experience using our latest features. If you want to try out new Office features first and make a difference in the products you use every day, please join the Office Insiders and check out the Mac channels.

Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.

Host your next virtual party in Microsoft Teams with apps and screen sharing games

Host your next virtual party in Microsoft Teams with apps and screen sharing games

by | Dec 4, 2020 | Microsoft 365, Office 365, Technology, Tips and Tricks

This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.

Whether your team is working hybrid or working around the world, it’s always great to stay connected personally and professionally with members of your team. Many teams use scheduled get-together meetings in Teams to hold book clubs, celebrate a special moment, or just gather together and catch up on weekend plans. Conversations are always central in these meet ups – but we also know that every get together can be more fun and connecting with quizzes and games. Within Microsoft Teams, there are several good options for hosting these events, virtually.

Running Kahoot! Quizzes and Trivia in your meeting
Who doesn’t love great trivia or a friendly competitive quiz? For hosting these for your team, a good option is to use Kahoot! – which is available as a standalone app and with an associated integration directly within Microsoft Teams. Kahoots are engaging quizzes and challenges you can create and re-use within your team. These quizzes can be questions for learning or adding interactivity to presentation experiences, and in addition, you can also use Kahoot! to create team trivia challenges for your next team gathering.

With the Kahoot integration inside of Microsoft Teams, you can see a dashboard of your designed Kahoots, and use them during meetings to spur friendly competition. Before the meeting, design your Kahoots and add questions and answers. In addition to exploring and using questions from popular Kahoots via the Discover option, consider mixing in various forms of general trivia, trivia specific to topics for your team, or maybe trivia about your team specifically.

When it is time for the meeting itself, you can launch a Kahoot from the Kahoot app tab within Teams. Expand the Kahoot! gameplay window, and then share that during a meeting by sharing your screen. Make sure to use the Include computer sound option when you share. Once the Kahoot! gameplay screen is shared, attendees can join in and answer questions from their own devices. Answering question quickly matters, and you’ll soon see a friendly competition bloom. You can find out more about Kahoot! on kahoot.com, and you can add the Kahoot! integration for Microsoft Teams from AppSource.

Kahoot.png

Using Jackbox Games with Microsoft Teams screen sharing
Jackbox Games are the makers of several party games that are great to play together in person or virtually. From speech games like Talking Points to drawing games like Drawful and witty quip games like Quiplash – there are a wide variety of games and styles to suit every taste. Most games run for about 15-25 minutes with straightforward rules and quick tutorials, so they are easy to pick up and play. Most games support up to 8-10 players, and some have additional audience viewing options if you have extra visitors.

Jackbox Games are available for a wide variety of devices and consoles, but if you want to use Jackbox within a virtual Microsoft Teams streaming session, we’d recommend getting Jackbox on your PC or Mac. The host of the virtual get-together will need a copy; the attendees in the meeting can follow along on their devices. Every player will join the meeting and then connect to the Jackbox game with a room code – which they can do in a web browser or on a separate device, like their phone. It is easy and takes seconds to get everyone started on a game.

You’ll likely want to use Steam – a service for purchasing and installing games – to get Jackbox games. These games come in Party Packs of 5 games each – so each Party Pack provides a lot of choices for different gameplay styles. No one will be bored, and any party pack will work well – the most recent Jackbox Party Pack 7 features both Quiplash 3 and Blather ‘Round which work well in virtual game settings.

As you host your virtual get-together, you’ll want to start up the Jackbox Party pack of your choice. Use the screen sharing option in Teams, and make sure you check the “Include computer sound” option.

Jackbox.png

From there, start up a game and your room code will be visible, and attendees can join in.

Tips for using Jackbox Games in a Teams meeting
As you start your Jackbox Games, we recommend a couple of options:

In almost every Jackbox Game, there is a “Family Friendly” checkbox – you may want to consider checking that for your work conversations.

In a few Jackbox Games, there is also an option to filter out US-centric content, if you want to have questions or prompts that are more broadly relevant to teammates around the world.

Jackbox Games.png

Also, to keep the sound of the game from potentially drowning out your virtual guests and conversation while attending, in some cases you may want to consider turning down the background music.

Jackbox Games2.jpg

Also, some more advanced tips can help your virtual party even more:

  • If you have it, hosting a game with two screens (e.g., your laptop screen plus a plugged-in monitor) can work better, as you can place Teams on one screen and Jackbox on the other. That way, it is always easy to see your teammates and the game at the same time.
  • Using headphones can also help with isolating the sound of the game from the conversation.

We hope you get to explore the wide variety of games and quiz options for having fun, virtually, with your teammates. While the centerpiece of any virtual gathering is the conversations that you’ll have virtual activities through Kahoot! and Jackbox Games, you can help to break the ice, provide some memorable experiences, and heck – have some fun! – in almost any meeting you run.

Hey college students: have you seen this scam?

Hey college students: have you seen this scam?

by | Dec 2, 2020 | Security, Technology

This article was originally posted by the FTC. See the original article here.

Scammers are targeting college students. In the last year, we told you about a car wrap scam and a COVID-19 scam hitting college students. Today, we want to tell you about a fake check scam.

In this one, a scammer posing as a professor sends you an email. It uses a college domain name and a format like your.name@collegename.edu. The scammer offers you a part-time job, like personal assistant or dog walker. Then, the scammer sends you a check, asks you to deposit it, send some of the money to someone else, and keep the rest as payment. A while later, the bank realizes the check was fake and deducts the original check amount from your account. So, if you deposited a $1,000 check, they’ll take that back. But if you sent $400 to someone else, you’re now out $400 of your own money.

People report losing a lot of money to fake check scams. The median loss in 2019 was $1,988. That’s a lot of money for anyone to lose. But an FTC analysis published earlier this year showed that people in their twenties are more than twice as likely as people over 30 to report losing money to fake check scams.

Fake Check Scams Infographic

So how do you avoid a fake check scam? Never use money from a check to send gift cards, money orders, or wire money to someone. It’s always a scam. And, once you send the money or put it on a gift card and give someone the gift card PIN, it‘s like giving them cash. It’s almost impossible to get your money back.

Banks have to give you money from deposited checks within a few days. But if the check turns out to be a fake, they’ll make sure they get that money back from your account. The bottom line is, if someone sends you a check and tells you to send money by wire transfer or gift card — it’s a scam.

Spotted a scam like this? We want to hear about it. Let us know at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

Brought to you by Dr. Ware, Microsoft Office 365 Silver Partner, Charleston SC.

Warning: Dangerous OneDrive Phishing Scam

Warning: Dangerous OneDrive Phishing Scam

by | Nov 26, 2020 | Security, Technology, Tips and Tricks

The OneDrive phishing scam is particularly dangerous because of how insidious it is. A seemingly innocuous email shows up in your Inbox with a subject something like this, “Document for [your name].”  In the body of the email you see what looks like a familiar OneDrive notice about an available document that has been shared with you by someone you know. Upon clicking on the link or the folder you are forwarded to a familiar Microsoft 365 sign in box.

Microsoft 365 Authentication

You enter your email, which is accepted, and then you enter your password, which fails on the first attempt but succeeds on the second. You may end up at office.com or OneDrive but you don’t have access or you don’t see the shared document. At this point you may become suspicious but it’s too late. They now have your Microsoft 365 email and password. They can get into your email, send spam in your name, see/edit/delete your OneDrive files. If you have administrative privileges they can wreak even more havoc. How can you avoid this scam?

How to Vet Your Email Messages

Every email that appears in your Inbox should be vetted no matter if it’s from a friend or foe (see image below).

  1. Are you expecting this email?
  2. Check the “sender,” not just the name, but also the email address.
  3. Hover over (don’t click) all links. A bubble will appear with the link destination.

OneDrive Phishing Scam - what to do

Now you’re equipped with all the information you need. If this is not an expected email then do not click on anything and contact the sender to see if they actually sent you this message. If it is expected or typical for the sender still do steps 2 and 3 above. If either do not match then do not click on anything. You may still want to alert the sender so they can check to see if their email has been hacked.

Additional Steps

Multifactor authentication would completely prevent this type of attack. When your Microsoft 365 administrator activates multifactor authentication then each time you log into Microsoft 365 you are asked for a verification code via text or call. You might even use the Microsoft Authenticator app. This extra step thwarts scammers. Even if someone were to fall for this scam, and the scammer had their Microsoft 365 email and password, when the scammer tries using their credentials a text, call, or email would go to the real user for verification and that would stop the scammer in their tracks. It would also alert the user that their account has been compromised allowing them to take steps to change their password. I strongly recommend multifactor authentication.

The other usual steps are:

  1. Always keep your Windows OS up-to-date by activating automatic Windows updates.
  2. Keep your antivirus up-to-date and run frequent virus checks.
  3. Never ever give anyone your Microsoft 365 password and change it regularly.
  4. Listen to your gut. If it looks fishy (phishy) then delete it and call or text the sender

Online scams are on a meteoric rise. Diligence will keep you safe. Please be careful!

How to Increase Wi-Fi Speed

How to Increase Wi-Fi Speed

by | Nov 16, 2020 | Technology, Tips and Tricks

This article is contributed by Intel.

Learn how to increase the Wi-Fi speed on your device by optimizing the settings to boost signal and extend range.

Wi-Fi speed—you probably don’t think much about it until the movie you’re streaming crashes. Or your files won’t upload to the cloud. Or your web browser keeps spinning without loading the page you want.

With millions of users with wireless devices connecting to Wi-Fi around the world, it’s no wonder that people want to know how to improve their Wi-Fi speed for better experiences with entertainment streaming, large file uploads and downloads, and wireless gaming.

Innovations like the recent giant leap to Wi-Fi 6 technology make today’s Wi-Fi nearly 3x faster than previous generations.2 And since Wi-Fi speed is often related to internet connection range, there are a few ways to help improve performance throughout your home.

We’ll show you below how to determine the Wi-Fi generation on your device. Here are some additional terms you need to know about Wi-Fi connections:

  • Speed—New Wi-Fi technologies deliver data more quickly than previous generations. A faster connection results in faster Wi-Fi speeds.
  • Coverage & Capacity—Wi-Fi speed is one piece of the puzzle. You want a router that can deliver better Internet speed to more devices and at greater distances. New 160MHz-capable routers offer both – greater capacity and coverage.

With a faster Wi-Fi connection, you can easily stream movies, games, videos, and other data-heavy applications with greater reliability, lower latency, and higher data quality for images, graphics, and communication.

Why Your Wi-Fi Is Slow

There are many possible reasons for slow connection speed. Physical barriers, such as walls and floors, can affect wireless signals. The distance between the device and the access point and the number of devices using your Wi-Fi network will also impact connection speed. Even simple things like adjusting the height of your router off the floor can impact its performance.

Be sure to talk with your Internet service provider to make sure you’re paying for the speed you need. Different providers offer different speeds, and you may not have the package that is the best fit for your connectivity needs.

Three main factors impact the speed of your Internet connection—the placement of the router, the technology, and the devices that are connected to it.

Ways to Boost Your Wi-Fi Speed

1. Place your router in an open spot. Because Wi-Fi is just that—wireless—its connection speed is affected by distance, obstacles (such as walls, floors, and ceilings), electronic interference, and the number of users on the network. All these things contribute to the slow-down of Wi-Fi connection speed.
For the best signal, put the wireless router out in the open on the main floor of your house, away from walls and obstructions. Ideally, you’ll want to position it off the floor, above the furniture. Keep it away from other electronics that might cause interference, like microwaves, baby monitors, and cordless phones. You might also try pointing the antennas perpendicularly, with one horizontally and one vertically.

Want to know where the wireless dead spots are around your house? Try using a mobile app, like CloudCheck*, to test for them. It can also help you identify where the signal strength is best, so you can find a good spot for your router. Think of it as Wi-Fi feng shui for your wireless router.

2. Use current Wi-Fi technologies. Technologies change rapidly, and one of the best ways to speed up your wireless network is to use the latest hardware. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) is the biggest leap in wireless technology in over a decade, enabling faster speeds2, lower latency3, and greater capacity4 in PCs, mobile phones, and routers and gateways for the home. Older, lower performance technologies like Wireless-N (802.11n) and Wireless-AC (802.11ac) are still in most mobile and IoT devices, while other technologies are nearly obsolete.
Newer Wireless-AC routers have data transfer speeds up to three times faster than older Wireless-B/G/N models, and they offer “dual-band” functionally so you can free up channels for older wireless devices to access.

New Wi-Fi 6 routers have data transfer speeds nearly 3x faster2 than standard Wi-Fi 5 solutions, and they offer “dual-band” functionally so you can free up channels for older wireless devices to access.

And, of course, you’ll want to select the latest Wi-Fi with WPA and secure your Wi-Fi network with a password so your neighbors can’t stream their movies on your wireless connection.

3. Limit devices and optimize settings. Playing online games, conducting video chats, and streaming movies and videos take up a lot of bandwidth, and they can slow down Internet speed and access for everyone connected to that Wi-Fi network. Some routers have a Quality of Service (QoS) setting that lets you control which apps have priority access to the Internet bandwidth. For example, you may want to prioritize video calls if you have a lot of meetings, and deprioritize file downloads from the cloud. You can always get your files later, but you don’t want to drop a call with an important client or family member.

You’ll also want to make sure that your wireless router has the latest updates to its firmware and drivers. While many newer routers have a built-in update process, you may need to access your router’s settings to manually start an update or visit your device manufacturer’s website for bug fixes.

You can also fine-tune the channel selection on your router. By default, many wireless routers are set to run on channel 6. This means that your neighbors’ routers might also be running on channel 6, causing congestion on that channel because of the number of devices connected to it. Using a tool like Wi-Fi Analyzer* or Wi-Fi Scanner* can help you identify router channels with more bandwidth giving you improved Internet speed.

If your router is relatively new, it should be able to switch between two radio frequencies—2.4 GHz (the older standard) and 5 GHz (the newer standard). Smart wireless routers can choose the best frequency for you and your environment. Each frequency has multiple channels: 14 at 2.4 GHz and 30 at 5GHz. So, if your router has the capability to automatically switch between frequencies, it can choose among 44 channels. You can check your wireless router settings to see if it is auto-switching between channels and frequencies for the optimal setting.

Other Tips

Looking for even more ways to try to increase your Wi-Fi speed and extend the Internet connection range?

1. Use a wireless range extender. While this may not speed up the connection, it can boost the signal into the dead spots of your house or office. For example, if your router is on the first floor of your house, you may want to add a wireless range extender on another floor to boost the signal. It can be a big help in areas with thick walls or other physical structures that can impede a wireless signal.

2. Add access points. Think of access points as creating a wireless mesh around your house. They transmit Internet signals to each other to create a wireless network. They are created for large spaces with multiple floors.

3. Speed up the data stream. That invisible wireless connection can have a huge impact on our daily lives—determining how much we get done or how much we can kick back and relax. No one wants dropped video calls, choppy video streaming, or slow file downloads. With a little know-how, the appropriate router and some persistence, you can tweak your wireless router’s settings to increase your channel width with options of 20, 40, 80, and even 160 MHz to improve Wi-Fi connection speed and extend range.

4. Update routers, gateways, and devices to the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard. Experience Gigabit speeds and improved responsiveness with PCs and routers featuring best-in-class5 Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) technology.

You may also like:

Secure enterprise Wi-Fi access: EAP-TLS on Azure Sphere

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