What should school teachers, students, and business people be excited about by the latest Microsoft conference? A rough answer would be something that includes Minecraft, new software bundles, and cut-rate Windows devices. For a detailed answer, read on.

Good news for schools and educators

Microsoft recently rolled out Microsoft 365 for Education, which combines Office 365 for Education, Windows 10, Enterprise Mobility and Security, and even Minecraft: Education Edition -- a game that teaches kids how to code. This new bundle will provide more advanced tools for learning, increase classroom communication capabilities, and improve security.

Note that Office 365 for Education is already free and this will not change. However, the new Microsoft 365 for Education is equipped with more educational apps such as 3D and data virtualization tools, plus Microsoft Teams. While this makes it more tempting to use, all the goodies come with a cost — a per-user, per-month subscription.

In terms of hardware, Microsoft’s Windows 10 S laptops, which are already aimed at school users, will come with free Minecraft Education, Office 365 for Education, and Microsoft Teams -- all for a price starting as low as $189.

What’s new for business people

Microsoft is targeting “firstline workers” such as clerks and sales reps with a new enterprise plan called “Microsoft 365 F1.” This software bundle combines Office 365, Windows 10, Enterprise Mobility and Security, and Microsoft Staffhub to enhance employee productivity.

The company also partners with hardware providers and has come up with Windows 10 S laptops for businesses. These ultra-slim laptops have enhanced security since they only run apps from the Window Store. But the glamor of it all is their wallet-friendly pricing.

HP Stream 14 Pro, Acer Aspire 1, Acer Swift 1, and Lenovo V330 ranges from $275 to $349. The first model is available now, while the rest will be released later this year and in February for Lenovo.

Goodbye Skype for Business

Microsoft officially announced that it will phase out Skype for Business and focus instead on developing “Microsoft Teams,” a communication tool the company launched earlier to compete with Slack.

This is not as dreadful as it may sound, since Skype and Teams share similar architecture, meaning we’ll probably get a better collaboration tool that still retains some of the Skype features we know and love.

New software and gadgets are exciting, yet in reality, not everyone can rush out to buy a new product every time it comes out. A more practical way would be to make use of what you already have. And you can do so with the help of our IT staff; they’ll be more than happy to help you maximize the performance of your current Microsoft software and hardware, or deploy new solutions if you wish. Call us today!

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“Script kiddies” are a type of computer hacker that copies malware programs from more experienced creators and put their own name on it. WannaCry was programmed by script kiddies, and the group they stole the malware from is selling a new set of vulnerabilities.

Who are the ShadowBrokers?

There are several theories about who the members of this hacker group are -- from National Security Agency (NSA) employees to Russian operatives -- but all these theories are based on unreliable information. All we know for sure is that the ShadowBrokers are using social media to sell a seemingly endless trove of cybersecurity secrets.

What are they selling?

The ShadowBrokers’ first auction was in August of 2016, promising in broken English that the highest bidder would receive security vulnerabilities on par with government cyber weapons. Over the year that followed, the ShadowBrokers used auctions, crowdfunding, and direct sales to release vulnerabilities that all seemed to come from the NSA.

In April of 2017, the fifth release went public and was characterized by one security expert as “the most damaging thing I've seen in the last several years.” It included the ETERNALBLUE Windows vulnerability that allowed WannaCry to infect over 300,000 computers in a single day.

The September 2017 release

In a recent announcement, the ShadowBrokers announced a subscription service that will include access to bi-monthly security exploit releases. The first package included an NSA exploit named UNITEDRAKE, which allows hackers to remotely monitor or control a computer running any of the following versions of Microsoft’s operating system:

• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows Server 2003/2008/2012
• Windows 7 (if no updates have been installed)
• Windows 8

The UNITEDRAKE exploit can secretly record audio from your microphone, video from your webcam and anything that is typed while you are logged in. It can also remove itself from the target computer leaving no signs of a breach.

How to protect yourself from ShadowBrokers releases

To date, all the known NSA security exploits and ShadowBrokers releases have targeted older and outdated versions of software. The best thing you can do to protect your computers is keep your operating systems and software applications patched with the most recent vendor updates.

Advanced network monitoring can detect suspicious activity, but that requires a significant amount of time and IT expertise. Small- and medium-sized businesses usually don’t have the resources to handle 24x7 network supervision, but our team can help.

If you need help securing your business and its information from cyber threats, give us a call today.

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One of the things that can make your PC perform slower than normal is clutter. And for a long time, Windows users had no choice but to manually remove the clutter themselves. The good news is, Windows 10 has come up with new tools that make decluttering a lot easier. But first off, you need to know what types of clutter there are, and how to get rid of them.

5 types of clutter you need to know

1. Pre-installed software: This unwanted OEM software, referred to as "bloatware," poses security risks and takes up tons of CPU, RAM, and disk space. To get rid of it, Refresh Windows.
2. Windows Updates: All too often, Microsoft launches updates that fail to download correctly, leaving you with corrupted and unusable files. Some of them will be deleted by Windows, while some will hang around forever. To remove them, Reset Windows.
3. Registry Bloat: Every action performed in Windows gets recorded in your computer’s registry, including files and applications you’ve deleted. And gradually, Windows becomes bogged down by thousands of redundant entries. The solution? Reset Windows.
4. Error files: Whenever software in your system encounters errors in processing or crashes altogether, Windows will keep a log file of it. And, as with Registry Bloat, these log files accumulate. To remove all these space-eating files, Reset Windows.
5. User Bloat: This means a large number of your own files, especially if it’s unorganized. Solution: Refresh Windows.

How to declutter Windows

To rid your computer of all this clutter, you have two choices: Reset or Refresh. When you Reset, a brand new copy of Windows 10 is installed and "resets" your system to its original state. When you Refresh, your PC reinstalls Windows 10 free of any bloatware.

Both tools will delete Windows 10 apps and your customized settings, and will give you choices of keeping your old files or deleting them.

To get started, go to Start > Setting > Update and Recovery > Recovery

If you want to Reset Windows, choose Reset This PC > Get Started and then follow the on-screen instructions.

If you want to Refresh Windows, you need to know whether your Windows update version is Windows 10 1607 or Windows 10 1703 since the processes are a bit different.

• For Windows 10 1607, choose More Recovery Options > Learn How to Start Afresh With a Clean Copy of Windows 10, at which point you'll see a new screen in your browser. Click Download Tool Now at the bottom of the page, and when the download is finished, follow the on-screen instructions.
• For Windows 10 1703, click Settings > Update & Recovery > Recovery > More recovery options > Start Afresh to launch Windows Defender. Then click Get Started to start the Refresh process. Alternatively, you can press the Windows key + R, enter systemreset -cleanpc and click Enter. When you see the Fresh Start menu, click next to start the process.

There are innumerable ways to make your computer perform faster and more efficiently, and our Windows experts are equipped with all the tricks of the trade. Give us a call today.

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A common reason for running the Windows operating system (OS) on a Mac computer is to bypass compatibility issues. Virtualization is the only way to efficiently install OS-specific software on any machine, so let’s go over some of the ways this solution creates synergy between the two platforms.

Configure an entire machine with a few clicks

With programs like VMware and Parallels, installing Microsoft’s OS on your Mac is almost as easy as creating a new document in Office. The process varies between vendors, but it’s usually akin to clicking File and New and then choosing between Windows XP, 7, 8 or 10, and typing in your product key.

Deciding how much hard drive space and RAM get devoted to your virtual machine is also simple and user-friendly. For example, allocating memory to your Windows partition is done by sliding a marker along a scale that is color-coded based on the recommendations of your virtualization software.

Once you've completed these simple steps, click Finish and the rest will be configured for you.

Picture-in-picture computing

Older OS virtualization solutions forced you to choose which platform you would use by presenting the options while the computer was still booting up. Once you picked one operating system, there was no way to switch without restarting the whole computer.

Now, you can open Windows as if it were just another desktop application. This is especially useful when you need to work in both OSs simultaneously. Just adjust your Windows screen to half the size of your monitor and use the other half for MacOS applications.

Another reason this is so important is because it allows you to run multiple versions of Windows at the same time. Half of your screen could be running an outdated application in Windows XP while the other half is working in Windows 10.

Touchbar support

The customizable touchscreen that was added to Apple’s most recent line of laptops is a great way to create shortcuts and increase productivity. Virtualization applications have added Touch Bar support so you can use it to interact with Windows applications.

For example, a Touch Bar button for opening Cortana -- Microsoft’s AI assistant -- is included in the Parallels virtualization software. Alternatively, you can also use Apple’s keyboard touch screen to toggle between virtual OSs or interact with your Mac while still working in Windows.

Single Application Mode

Containers are a popular subset of virtualization solutions that allow you to give users access to a single application rather than an entire OS. Unfortunately, they are incredibly difficult to set up and manage. Updates to Mac virtualization software have simplified the process with a “Single Application Mode” whereby administrators can grant employees access to preconfigured Windows partitions with only one program installed.

Snapshots

Regardless of whether you’re a certified virtualization professional or a consumer trying to make it work with low-cost software, everyone makes mistakes. With saved configurations of Windows installs known as Snapshots, you can start over without having to set up everything from scratch.

If one of your Windows partitions becomes infected with malware, loading a Snapshot rolls everything back to its original state so you don’t have to configure the virtual hardware or retype the Windows product key. Best of all, restoring a Snapshot is much quicker than a fresh install.

Taking advantage of everything virtualization has to offer involves a lot of IT planning and maintenance. Fortunately, it’s all within reach for small- and medium-sized businesses that partner with a managed IT services provider. Contact us today to learn more!

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