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Category Tip

Cloud , Office 365 , Tip

Change to Azure Active Directory Multi-Factor Authentication Breaks Outlook

I’ve been using MFA with Office 365 for some time. I was using the Authenticator app on my smartphone and entering the six-digit code when I was challenged by the MFA mechanism. However, I recently changed the MFA process so that the Authenticator app simply pops-up a notification asking for approval, dispensing with the six-digit number.

This worked nicely for the web and other application but, after a day or so, Outlook failed to connect and repeatedly showed. No-matter what password I entered, or how often, it kept coming back with this dialogue…

The solution was to run Microsoft’s Support and Recovery Assistant for Office 365, which is better known as SARA. You can download it here, https://aka.ms/Sara. Once installed the wizard looks like this…

Naturally, mine was an Outlook issue so I started on that path…

There was an exact entry for my issue so my choice was clear…

Obviously, if the tool is going to help, it needs to be run on the machine with the issue…

Enter your Office 365 credentials…

I’m using MFA for my Office 365 account, so I had to go through the MFA login…

Choose your work account…

Enter your O365 password…

Complete the MFA authorisation and you’ll be presented with this page in the wizard…

It looks like Outlook doesn’t work quite a smoothly with MFA as it should. It seems to need an App password. I don’t remember creating an App password, so I opted to click ‘create a new one’ and got sent to this page…

(It’s https://account.activedirectory.windowsazure.com/AppPasswords.aspx.) Initially, for me, this page was empty, there were no App passwords. Clicking ‘Create’ let’s you add one to the page, like this…

You’re asked to create a name for your password. I went with ‘My O365 App Password’ and clicked Next…

The wizard then creates you a strong password. You really need to make a note of it somewhere. Once you’ve got a copy, you can return to SARA. It’s this password that it’s looking for in the page from before…

SARA then does some checks…

Then…

It’s offering to fix Outlook so let’s try, click Yes…

Seems fair, let’s do it…

Close Outlook then Next…

Outlook starts and asks for the password. This time, it’s that new App password so paste it in. Then, as if by magic, Outlook connects and Email flows again…

Conclusion

It seems, for Outlook, it’s important to set and know your App password. I’m sure this will become smoother over time, but it’s a bit of a pain at the moment. I might try turning MFA off or switching authentication method again to see if that also breaks Outlook. Enabling MFA is something that is great for security and so should be done for all organisations, but we don’t want Outlook to break everywhere!

On a plus note, the SARA tool seems pretty good.

Tip

What might be included in the next Microsoft Exchange Server?

For the Technology minded amongst you we have been looking at what might be included in Microsoft Exchange server 2016.

According to technology website InfoWorld ‘ We don’t know much about what will be in Exchange Server 2016 — Microsoft has provided very few details. It has said that the new features in the on-premises Exchange were “birthed” in Exchange Online, so Exchange Server 2016 will be a subset of the service.

NIgel_Mills_MBMMicrosoft did say back-end improvements to “Exchange architecture, high availability, and storage” are part of the Exchange Server 2016 mix. So too is enhanced document collaboration (perhaps involving SharePoint 2016 or OneDrive for Business) with a “new approach to document collaboration that makes it easy to send links and collaborate without versioning issues of attachments.”

Personally, I can’t get the hang of Microsoft’s current document collaboration approach when working in Office 365 or OWA, so I usually send the full attachment instead of a link to my OneDrive document.

Tony Redmond, an Exchange MVP, suspects the new document collaboration approach might still feel unnatural: “This is a laudable goal, but one that might run into the fact that it is terribly hard for users to break the habit of a lifetime and stop including full attachments with messages.” I’m one of those users, apparently.

Microsoft also promises search-related improvements in Exchange Server 2016, such as for e-discovery search performance and reliability. It appears they’ll be based on the improvements already made for search in Office 365 or the search improvements promised for Outlook 2016 based on the integration of the Fast search technology Microsoft acquired some years ago and already uses in Exchange and SharePoint.

Second guessing Microsoft can be interesting – feel free to add your thoughts.

Tip

Uk SMEs facing an unprecedented level of attempted online fraud

According to experts at smallbusiness.co.uk the Uk is experiencing an unprecedented level of attempted online fraud this month – the reason is a simple one as the article explains
slidetwoData from payment processing company Worldpay suggests instances of fraud could rocket by as much as 80 per cent in February as hackers start to capitalise on customer data harvested during a hectic Christmas shopping period.
Tim Lansdale, head of payment security at Worldpay says, ‘We see a dip in fraud around Christmas as hackers go on the hunt for information, using the online sales rush to stockpile thousands of customer card details.
‘It isn’t until February that they start cashing in on all the data they’ve collected. Other breaches can last much longer; attackers might decide to keep returning to their targets, sometimes for years.’
During 2011-2014, the average data breach exposed 284 days of card payments. Worldpay’s analysis shows breaches lasting from 11 days at the lowest end of the scale, to 1,723 days at the other extreme.
The company says small businesses are by far the biggest target for hackers, accounting for 85.7 per cent of UK data breaches. Virtually all data breaches (99.3 per cent) happened online, rather than at the point of sale, as the UK’s e-commerce market continues to boom.
SOSIn 2014, businesses in the entertainment, hobby and leisure industries accounted for 23.3 per cent of all card data breaches, followed by clothing and footwear stores (16.3 per cent) and jewellery, beauty and gifts (11.6 per cent).
Businesses in the entertainment industry, particularly online ticket booking systems, tend to make easy prey for hackers due to the high number of credit and debit card transactions they process online each day.
The clean-up costs of being targeted can run to tens of thousands of pounds, with a standard investigation costing £11,250 on average, and attracting at least a £8,000 penalty, not including the costs of lost goods and damage to reputation.
Lansdale says, ‘Data breaches can be ruinous, so its vital small business owners know the risks and take the necessary measures to protect themselves and their customers and employees.
‘You wouldn’t leave your store unlocked overnight, yet so few businesses are doing enough to protect their online shop fronts and keep hackers at bay.’
Worldpay advises taking measures such as changing all your default passwords, having a third party host your payment page, and testing your firewalls at least every three months,
NIgel_Mills_MBMSecurely destroying all card data records when no longer needed, and avoiding storing the three digits ‘CVC’ number on the back of the card, are also measures that should be observed.
At MBM we can help Small Business combat this fraud. We would love to speak to you about protecting your data.

Cloud , Office , Tip

Put your IT in the cloud – not your head!

There are great advantages to cloud computing services and no wonder it is becoming an easy choice for businesses: the minimal upfront costs, pay-as-you-go cost structure, flexible access to software and data, and the fact that the expensive and awkward parts of the IT setup are someone else’s burden!
Cloud services can make applications that were once the preserve of only the largest organisations, like CRM, sales management, contact centre software, call recording – available to any company, from a two-person business to a £20 million turnover organisation.
officeOne of the biggest benefits of Microsoft Office 365 is that it gives you virtually anywhere access to the Microsoft Office tools you know and rely on – your complete office in the cloud.
Some businesses are concerned about exactly how to choose the right cloud applications, how to get the best use from them, and if their data will be secure when it’s up there. To help dispel these doubts, here are the key questions you should ask a cloud service provider before committing.
logo_RGB_squareSo do you know what the cloud is? Simply put, cloud computing is computing on the internet. Rather than installing programs on a computer, for example, people can run applications directly from a website. This principle also applies to storage of data; rather than keeping folders full of important work on your own PC, it can be stored remotely online this gives you data you can access from any computer regardless of where you are
And the reason why you should be using it ?Cloud computing and storage has a huge number of benefits for small businesses – as well as being more efficient, it also gives you a little protection if the worst happens and you lose access to the files on your computer – no real need for an IT disaster recovery plan !
Cloud computing allows you to store as much or as little data as you need to, usually charging on a pay-as-you-go basis. SOSThis means that you don’t need to upgrade your own hardware, and allows you to keep saving and working without worrying about limitations. The vast number of servers involved in a cloud system also means that bandwidth requirements can be increased on demand, so you don’t have to wait around to gain more space.
Would you like to discuss Cloud Computing for your Business? Give MBM a call.

Office , Tip

Build your List – A direct side-effect of house Wifi

We’ve all been in coffee shops, pubs, restaurants, fitness clubs and other public places and tried to log on to a guest wi-fi. Do you take notice of what information you have been asked for ? Date of Birth ? Email address ? Physical address ? – all these items enable the receiving establishment to build a picture of you. The next time you login you may be asked for another piece of information – for instance anniversary or maybe occupation. The time after a different piece of information.

wifi Coffee CupAll this information can be used to build a picture of your visitors and better than that the information can enable some targeted marketing to be formulated – for instance special occasion discounts or offers for certain age groups.

By giving something (information) in exchange for something free (Wi-fi) visitors will tell you so much more than you could gain for traditional methods such as surveys or paper based application forms.

At MBM we are experts in information gathering and can manage this operation for you. Interested in finding out more ? Contact us and we will be happy to put you in contact with an Engineer – not a salesman!slidethree

Online Backup , Tip

The Invisible destroyer

How protected do you feel in your Business ? Is everything you do being watched? How common are viruses in today’s workplace? Look at any computer in your office. You can’t see the security threats, but they’re swirling round it like a malicious cloud. They’re multiplying and getting more sophisticated all the time. If one of them gets in, it could do untold damage to your business. And the hard truth is that anti-virus software simply isn’t enough any more.

slidetwo

Many business owners assume their systems and networks are protected. But what happens when people take their work laptops out of the office? What if they open a zip file that’s pretending to be from an online marketplace ?

What if they click on a website picture that has malicious code embedded in it?

The worst viruses and malware will immobilize a computer. If it’s on your network, the problem will spread through your business. Every computer will probably need completely wiping. While that’s being done, everything grinds to a halt costing you precious man-hours.

Here at MBM we take these threats very seriously we pride ourselves on our security record and endeavour to make sure all your data is protected from attack or theft.

We can provide solutions to protect your network from unwanted threats. These solutions can be installed on local PCs and servers to monitor threat activity and quickly deal with it. The software has the ability to update itself silently over the Internet and provide a centralized server-based management console to monitor threats and provide reports. We can also provide our own mail scanning solution called InterLinx Filtered Email to filter and clean Emails before they even arrive at your desk, this is done by routing your inbound and outbound mail through our secure scanning servers on the Internet; this ensures that both you and your mail recipients are protected.MBM_42Emails_Blog_small

If you would like to find out more about what we do, then please call us to arrange a meeting. You’ll meet a network engineer, not a salesman! Call 01902 324494 or email sales@mbmltd.co.uk

Cloud , Tip

Your Clients expect WiFi

We have all been to venues where there are ‘follow-us’ signs for the latest Social Media platform or offers to win the latest i-pad in exchange for your contact details. The fact is increasingly people are expecting to be able to access the internet from all kinds of places from Coffee shops to supermarkets and if you are in the entertainment business (pubs clubs hotels etc) its quite frankly a must have.

So why would you give away free WiFi ? Lots of reasons but we thought we would pull a few together in our latest blog. slidethreeWiFi allows businesses such as cafes, pubs and restaurants to attract customers which they would not have attracted in the past. From experience we all know that sitting alone in a café or bar is an awkward experience and discourages us from  sitting alone on a regular basis.In a recent poll 53% of people surveyed would be happy to sit alone in a cafe if WiFi was available. Free WiFi access helps people connect with friends online and removes the stigma of sitting alone. Using social platforms like Foursquare or Swarm may even bring their friends and connections to your venue.

WiFi networks require a registration process for new users. This process requires new users to supply basic details in order to create an account, this could include name, age, gender and email address. You could even request additional details as people login for a second time thus building a profile of your users that will allow you to better target their needs next time they attend – Birthdays are an easy one – an offer to bring 10 friends in exchange for a welcome drink or maybe a Birthday cake is good business!

wifi Coffee CupPeople base their decisions on which venue to chose on many criteria. Free WiFi is one of those criteria having the service will help differentiate your business from your competitors

Installing a WiFi Hotspot does not involve the costs that some businesses would imagine for example a business will spend a huge amount on a television subscription to play the latest football matches to attract customers yet many companies (including MBM) will supply the WiFi dish for FREE (with a small installation cost). Managing the collected  data collected can also be a daunting prospect but here at MBM for a monthly management fee of around 50p per day we will work with you to collate your data for you to use in future targeted campaigns.

logo_RGB_squareInterested ? Speak to Nigel at MBM today. You need customer WiFi and our solution doesn’t cost the earth.

 

Cloud , Tip

Ever thought of VOIP?

We’ve been providing VOIP – Voice Over Internet Protocol or Voice Over IP – telephone services for our customers for years.

How does it work?

The phone call travels over the Internet as data just like email.

Benefits of VOIP

ManagedOfficeWiFiNot everyone is certain about changing to a new way of making & receiving calls. Here’s our Top 5 reasons for considering VOIP:

1. VOIP can be cheaper – that’s a pretty good reason to think about changing to a VOIP service! Operating and infrastructure costs can be cheaper than traditional services.

2. Get the most out of your Broadband – you’re already paying for broadband so make sure you use it to its maximum by making & receiving calls too.

3. Low maintenance – no more fixing of landlines, simply reboot to re-establish your connection.

4. Portability – you can take your VOIP phone with you wherever you are as long as you’re connected to the internet.

5. Lots of Features – with VOIP you get a lot of additional features such as voicemail sent to email, full call records, make calls through your laptop, use virtual phone numbers etc.

No matter what your size of business, VOIP can offer significant benefits.

Want to find out more?

Call us on 01902 32 44 94 for a chat about VOIP or visit here

Cloud , Tip

Are you letting Business Walk out of your Door?

How often now do you check if a venue has in-house wi-fi ? From fast food outlets, Pubs, takeaways, shops and even church halls have their own in house platforms for you to login to.

Offering Wi-fi to customers of your business is highly beneficial more so in a retail or leisure/entertainment environment. Businesses can also offer guest wireless access from a private office which is ideal for contractors, visitors or associates working on-site.

wifi Coffee CupIt’s important that your business WiFi is kept separate from guest and visitor WiFi and encrypted to ensure they don’t access your wireless traffic.

Offering Free WiFi will encourage users to take your offering in exchange for their contact details.

MBM can offer you a package solution and are happy to help you implement a solution which will be a perfect fit all around.

Talk to MBM today and join thousands of businesses benefiting from this provision.

Cloud , Tip

Don’t get caught out like celebrities

You’ll no doubt have seen the recent press coverage about personal photos of celebrities being accessed from their cloud storage. Whilst we hope that there aren’t any nude photos of you or your staff in the Cloud, how can you be sure that your cloud data is secure?

TabletCloud services, like so many other online services, are protected by nothing more than an email address and password. Mobile phones are inextricably linked to the Cloud services run by their manufacturers: Apple devices copy data across to iCloud, Windows devices copy to Microsoft OneDrive and so on. This data includes photos, videos, texts, address books, app data and settings. Clearly, this is very useful, but if someone guesses your password, they can have access to all of this from anywhere!

It is thought that a hacker gained access to one celebrity’s Cloud service and downloaded their address book. This then gave them the email addresses of several more high profile celebrities. Once you know a person’s email address, all you need to do is then guess their password.

How can you improve your security?

You can change the settings on your Smartphone so it does not back up to the Cloud. But as it’s a really useful feature, especially if you lose or break your phone, would you really want to disable that functionality?

You can enable a ‘two-factor authentication’ on your cloud services. This means that you need two pieces of information before you can sign in. The first is your regular password and the second is often a code that gets texted to you when you attempt to sign-in. Without both the password and the code from the text message, you can’t again access. Once authenticated, this will keep you connected for a day or so. Apple, Google and Microsoft support two-factor authentication for their Cloud services.

Want to find out more?

Call us on 01902 32 44 94 for a chat about Cloud or visit https://www.mbmltd.co.uk/Cloud-Services-Overview.asp

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