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Improvements on the new Outlook webmail

Organizing email is an important but time-consuming task. An email system that lets employees spend less time sorting messages and adjusting settings and more time working is an easy way to improve your business. If your company uses Outlook.com, here are some new features that help.

The post Improvements on the new Outlook webmail appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

12 Sep, 2017 / by Complete Technology Resources / in Web category
Improvements on the new Outlook webmail

Organizing email is an important but time-consuming task. An email system that lets employees spend less time sorting messages and adjusting settings and more time working is an easy way to improve your business. If your company uses Outlook.com, here are some new features that help.

Easy elimination of unwanted emails

Employees spend an excessive amount of time poring through both important and junk emails. In the redesigned Outlook.com, it takes only three clicks to block unwanted emails, helping you to organize your mailbox better and faster. Simply click on the Sweep function to configure inbox preferences like blocking incoming emails from specific senders or automatically deleting 10-day-old messages.

In case you accidentally delete important messages, you can use the “undelete” function to retrieve them without the assistance of IT staff.

New security features

When you log in to your Outlook account on a public device or on your laptop using public WiFi, Microsoft will send you a one-time password via SMS. Once you’ve logged out of your account, further attempts by intruders to log in to your account in the same public place will be foiled by this additional safety procedure.

Another security feature is the stealth email address features, which allows you to create a temporary email address. This is particularly useful in situations where you have to provide your email to sign up for a service, e.g., eCommerce or file sharing websites, and you’re not sure whether or not these sites are secure. Using your temporary email address, you can filter incoming emails from suspicious senders or delete them if you suspect that they’re spam.

Social media contacts integration

For users whose business connections extend to their social media contacts, this feature lets you easily sync and consolidate Outlook contacts with contacts from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Google Plus. Note that you can choose to sync just one platform, e.g., LinkedIn, to ensure that only professional contacts get synced to your Outlook account.

Minimal advertising

If you spend an inordinate amount of time in your email, a busy interface can be distracting. The new Outlook.com reduces the number of intrusive ads on your screen, unlike in Gmail where ads appear right on top of your most recent email. Although there are ads, they are not prominently placed within your mailbox, and you have some control over the ads that do get shown.

Other enhancements

Other minor but useful enhancements include a bigger reply window, HTML and CSS formatting functionality, folders and category labeling features, increased storage capacity via SkyDrive integration, an improved photo gallery viewer, and more. These are just some of the more useful enhancements on Outlook.com, and Microsoft is expected to add even more in the future.

If you need more productivity-enhancing email features, or if you want to make the most of your existing email functions, call us today for tips and recommendations.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

The post Improvements on the new Outlook webmail appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

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Move over IE, Hello Microsoft Edge!

Not all Windows users are fans of Internet Explorer, and not all Mac users are crazy about Safari. But there's good news for Windows users: Windows 10 replaces IE with a brand new browser, Microsoft Edge. Here is a list of the key features you shouldn’t miss out on:

Import favorites
You can easily import the list of websites you've marked as favorites from any web browser to Microsoft Edge.

The post Move over IE, Hello Microsoft Edge! appeared first on Complete Technology Resources, Inc..

25 Aug, 2017 / by Complete Technology Resources / in Web, Windows category
Move over IE, Hello Microsoft Edge!

Not all Windows users are fans of Internet Explorer, and not all Mac users are crazy about Safari. But there's good news for Windows users: Windows 10 replaces IE with a brand new browser, Microsoft Edge. Here is a list of the key features you shouldn’t miss out on:

Import favorites
You can easily import the list of websites you've marked as favorites from any web browser to Microsoft Edge. You can do this by going to the More actions tab (located right next to the address bar), then Settings, and clicking on the Favorites settings tab. From there, choose the pages you want to add to your favorites list and click Import.

Change font size in reading view
Even with your reading glasses on, a website’s font can be too small to read. Microsoft Edge allows you to adjust the reading view by going to Other actions and selecting the Settings tab. From there, scroll down and click on the Reading section that will allow you to adjust the font size and even brightness to your liking.

Make notes on the website
Ever wished you could write on, circle, or highlight specific parts of a website and share them with your friends? Microsoft Edge lets you do just that with its new note feature. Select Make a web note and use tools such as the ballpoint pen or highlighter, or add a typed note on the page you’re browsing. When you’re done, click Save or Share to complete the process.

Reading list
This feature allows you to save articles, e-books, or any other content you wish to peruse later. By signing in with a Microsoft account, your reading list will appear on all your Windows 10 devices. Select Add to favorites or reading list, and then Reading list > Add. You can also add a link to your reading list by right-clicking on any link without having to visit the page.

Ask Cortana
Microsoft Edge users can easily access Cortana, Windows’ voice-activated personal assistant since it is built into the web browser. Cortana can make dinner reservations, offer additional discounts on certain shopping websites, and download applications that you may find useful. Simply highlight a word, phrase, or image, press and right-click it, and then select Ask Cortana to get more information or find related images.

View and delete browser history
As you browse the web, Microsoft Edge remembers and stores the information you’ve entered into forms, passwords, and sites you’ve visited. Most of it will be stored on your PC; but if you use Cortana, some of the data will be stored in the cloud which will be used to better assist you.

If you need to delete cache history, you can do so by following either of these two methods:

  • View your browsing history at Hub > History, then select Clear all history. If you want to retain certain data, you can choose what to remove, then select Clear.
  • Since Cortana’s browsing history is stored in the cloud, select Change what Microsoft Edge knows about me in the cloud, then select Clear browsing history.

Switching from one web browser to another isn't always as smooth as it is made out to be. In order for users to make the most out of their time online, they require a period of adjustment. If you still have questions about making Microsoft Edge your default browser, get in touch with our experts today.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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WordPress websites under attack

It’s no surprise that millions of websites are on WordPress -- it’s easy to manage, operates on an open source framework, and covers most webmasters’ Content Management Solutions (CMS) needs. What’s also no surprise? That it’s prone to attacks.

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27 Feb, 2017 / by Complete Technology Resources / in Security, Web category
WordPress websites under attack

It’s no surprise that millions of websites are on WordPress -- it’s easy to manage, operates on an open source framework, and covers most webmasters’ Content Management Solutions (CMS) needs. What’s also no surprise? That it’s prone to attacks. Recently, some 20 attackers defaced thousands of WordPress websites. If you think 20 attackers is frightening, wait ‘til you read more.

WordPress attacks by the numbers

In 4 separate attacks, an estimated 40,000 websites were compromised, defacing 67,000 web pages, which has quickly gone up to 1.5 million. A security release update, WordPress 4.7.2, was immediately launched to mitigate the flaw, but not everyone was able to deploy it on time, thus inflating the number of corrupted web pages.

Although WordPress took measures to ensure that the vulnerability would go unnoticed, hackers found a way to get around the initial fixes and exploited the sites that remained unpatched. Those who haven’t applied WordPress’s latest security release were the ones most harmed by the defacement campaigns, and it soon became highly publicized.

Steps taken

Fixes have been deployed and stronger patches are in the works, but hackers do not just sit around and wait to be taken down. In fact, more attacks are being launched concurrently with security developers’ attempts to strengthen blocking rules.

In preparation for further exploits, WordPress liaised with cybersecurity firms to implement protective measures. Google did their part by announcing via Google Search Console the critical security updates that webmasters must install to protect against the WordPress-specific attacks. Meanwhile, web application vendors and web hosting companies are poised to protect their customers from attacks by installing web filters on their customers’ web servers.

Despite these measures, the attacks are expected to continue and the masterminds behind them will come up with strategies more insidious than merely modifying several web pages. Updating security patches that can effectively alleviate the vulnerabilities’ impact will also take time to develop and launch.

The importance of patches

Some attacks may cause a blip on your business’s networks, while others might cause its demise. From all these attacks, one lesson is worth emphasizing: Applying the most up-to-date patches is critical to your systems’ security and business’s survival.

Unpatched systems are the easiest targets for hackers who are always on the lookout for vulnerabilities to exploit. If your organization lacks the capacity to manually update security patches, consider deploying patch management software. Keeping all your software updated with the latest patches may seem like an insurmountable task, but the price of neglecting it can cost you dearly.

WordPress remains the most widely used CMS and its popularity is not going to wane anytime soon. If your website runs on WordPress and you’re considering security options that will ensure your company is poised to handle breaches, contact us for advice.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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Ever since its initial release back in 2008, Chrome has been one of the most popular and widely used browsers in the world. Its speed and performance are top notch when compared to other browsers available in the market. As with other browsers, however, Chrome can be slow at times due to some of its […]

05 Feb, 2016 / by Complete Technology Resources / in Browsers, Web category

2016_Feb4_Browsers_BEver since its initial release back in 2008, Chrome has been one of the most popular and widely used browsers in the world. Its speed and performance are top notch when compared to other browsers available in the market. As with other browsers, however, Chrome can be slow at times due to some of its features and extensions. Here, we’ve listed some handy tricks to help speed up your Chrome and enhance your browsing experience.

Disable extensions

Extensions are basically small programs that you can download from the Chrome Web Store to add more features and functionality to your Chrome. While certain extensions are very useful (like AdBlock and Evernote) if you have too many installed, Chrome’s speed may suffer from processing all of these extensions at once.

Most extensions will show on Chrome’s address bar, and you can quickly uninstall them by right-clicking on the button and selecting “Uninstall”. You can also navigate to the hamburger icon on the toolbar, select “More tools” and then “Extensions”. From there you’ll find a list of extensions that may have been inadvertently installed by a user. Simply uncheck the “Enabled” box for the ones you don’t need.

Disable plugins

When you first install Google Chrome, some unnecessary plugins are also installed and enabled by default. Over the course of your web browsing session, you may even add more plugins to Chrome without knowing. As with extensions, you can disable plugins that are not in use. Simply type chrome:plugins into the address bar and press Enter. Note that plugins can only be disabled, not uninstalled. We recommend you keep the Adobe Flash Player plugin enabled, since many websites today use Flash to display menus and videos.

Clear browsing data

Chrome has a cache database that collects URLs of the websites you’ve visited, your download history, and cookies. While the purpose of this feature is to speed up your computer by caching data instead of loading it again every time, sometimes the browsing history can get bloated with hundreds and thousands of websites you’ve previously visited. Luckily there’s a quick fix: enter chrome://history in the address bar and hit Enter. Select “Clear browsing data” and select the items you wish to delete and choose a time range from the drop-down list. Click “Clear browsing data” again to remove the selected data.

Use the Clean up Tool

In some cases the speed of your Chrome may be affected by the software installed on your computer. Google has released its very own application that will scan and remove any software that may conflict with Chrome. You can check out the Chrome Cleanup Tool here. All you need to do is download and run the application, and sit back while the program scans your PC. The app is very helpful if you’ve tried the above tips but your Chrome continues to be sluggish.

Web browsers are indispensable tools for your business. You and your employees use them everyday to check emails, research information, get work done, manage social media accounts, and more. If the browser you’re using is not performing up to your expectations, contact us today and we’ll get to the root of the problem and fix it.

Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

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