Tag Archives: Windows

Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Microsoft Teams Gets End To End Encryption

Two months ago, Microsoft began rolling out support for end-to-end encryption for all Teams calls.  Given the pandemic and the increased demand for Teams and services like it, that was a very big deal.

The good news is that Microsoft recently announced that the rollout is complete and all Teams calls now support E2EE which increases security for everyone.

This is a move that most other virtual meeting clients have already begun to replicate. This is as working from home appears to be a permanent or at least semi-permanent fixture on the corporate landscape. All this is happening as we are still feeling the lingering effects of the pandemic.

If you are a Teams user your IT admin will be able to toggle the E2EE functionality on or off for your business depending on your particular needs and desires.

John Gruszcyk is a Technical Product Manager at Microsoft and he stressed:

“As a reminder, by default end-to-end encryption will not be available to all users within the tenant. 

Once IT has configured the policy and enabled it for selected users, those selected users will still need to turn on end-to-end encryption in their Teams settings. IT retains the ability to disable E2EE for one-to-one Teams calls as necessary.”

If you’re anxious to jump right in and start making use of E2EE for Teams calls you can do so in three easy steps:

  • Sign into your Teams Admin center and make your way to Other Settings à Enhanced Encryption Policies
  • Give your new policy a name and then for “end to end call encryption” select “Users can turn it on” – then save your selections.
  • Finally, once this is done and you’ve finished creating your policy assign it to user groups or your entire tenant the same way you manage other Teams policies.

Kudos to Microsoft for completing what much surely have been a massive undertaking on their end!

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Voice Commands Getting New Attention In Windows 11

For a few years now Microsoft has been experimenting with voice commands.  Their early experiments were limited to contexts that resided wholly inside specific applications however.

For example, once you opened Word you could use voice commands to activate a few of the software’s features.

Recently the company decided to take voice controls to a whole different level and by the time you read these words you’ll be able to download the latest Windows 11 update and play with the new feature.  Consider it to be a sneak peek of the shape of things to come.

As of Windows 11 preview build 22518 users can utilize voice commands to open and close applications, switch to Desktop view, minimize or maximize specific windows, select items, edit text, and more.

There are two important caveats to bear in mind though:

First at present only US English is supported.  Second the feature isn’t enabled by default so if you want to play around with it you’ll need to turn it on manually.

To do that go to Settings > Accessibility > Speech

Once there you’ll see an on/off switch to either enable or disable the Voice Access feature.  When you enable it for the first time there will be a slight delay as the OS will need to download a language pack.  Once that’s done you’ll be treated to a brief tutorial that will guide you through the basics of using the feature.  After that you’re all set.

In its current form the Voice Access feature supports more than 80 different commands. If the company’s massive user base embraces the feature you can bet that plenty of others will be added in the weeks and months ahead.

It’s a good feature and well worth taking the time to check out.  Kudos to Microsoft for bringing us one step closer to our Star Trek future!

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

New Emotet Malware Found A New Way To Distribute

Emotet is one of the most feared malware strains circulating right now. The team behind it has managed to infect a staggering array of targets all around the globe. To say that it is a major threat would be an understatement. Recently the group behind Emotet just upped the ante even further. Researchers have recently discovered that the malware is now being distributed via a new channel.

The new channel is a malicious Windows App Installer that appears to be an innocuous Adobe PDF reader. Windows App Installer is a built-in feature of both Windows 10 and 11 and systems can be infected by “tricking” users to click attachments in emails which trigger the App Installer.

Emotet’s preferred methodology revolves around a “conversation in progress” approach.  An email is crafted that already has several replies. So at a glance it appears that the recipient and whomever sent this email have already been conversing about something. The “most recent” reply says some variation of “please see attached” and contains a PDF file.

When the recipient clicks the file the built in App Installer is triggered and the malware is installed. Note that this completely bypasses most malware and AV software because the recipient is making a conscious decision to open the file in question.

The campaign is amazingly well put together.  The attachment and subsequent prompts appear to be legitimate Adobe Acrobat components right down to sporting an official company icon and a certificate marking it as a trusted application. So there’s no reason for a user to think that there’s anything amiss unless they look more closely at the email containing the attachment.

That’s exactly what the hackers are counting on.  They know that people are busy and may only give the body of the email a cursory glance before clicking to see what all the fuss was about.

As ever vigilance and mindfulness are the keys to avoiding these types of shenanigans.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

Microsoft Office Is Rolling Out A New User Interface

Microsoft is making a few UI changes across its entire product line in anticipation of rolling out Windows 11.  Early this year (2021) the company announced that they were updating the UI for Office 365 and Office 2021.

Over the summer small groups of users participated in an open beta and began playing with the updated versions of those app suites.

Now the company is ready for the big reveal and is rolling the new UI out to all Office 365 and Officer 2021 users. The changes don’t add anything in the way of new functionality but offer a different look and feel that brings the ubiquitous office suite into aesthetic alignment with what’s planned for Windows 11.

If you haven’t already started to see the changes you will soon. Primarily you’ll notice that icons and menu buttons have a softer more rounded appearance in keeping with the company’s slowly evolving aesthetic. Also note that the update will “remember” if you selected the light or dark theme you set inside Windows and your office suite will match that selection.

Users can toggle the new look on or off via the “megaphone” icon visible in the right-hand corner of Word Excel PowerPoint and OneNote. All Windows 11 users should see it the next time they open any of those apps.

Similar changes are planned for the Web and Mobile versions of the office suite. However, shifting those versions of the suite into alignment with what’s planned for Windows 11 is a significantly larger project that the company says will take at least another year to complete and possibly closer to two.

In the end though Windows will offer a single seamless aesthetic across its products which should improve and enhance the overall user experience and that’s good stuff.

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Posted on Author Atlantic Computer Services Categories Blog

 Microsoft Paint Got A Makeover After Recent Update

Microsoft has had a long and interesting relationship with its venerable “Paint” app.

Most people are familiar with Paint.  It’s been around since the earliest versions of Windows and let’s be honest it was never a great application.

It allows users to do the basics but it was quickly eclipsed by more robust and feature-rich programs.

How many people would make the claim that Paint stacks up well against Photoshop, GIMP, or Paintshop Pro? Very few indeed.

Nonetheless Paint has a loyal and vocal following. Microsoft found that out not long ago when they retired the app temporarily while replacing it with the new Paint 3D. This led to a near-rebellion against Microsoft and Paint’s supporters were so insistent that the app be brought out of retirement that the company bowed to the wishes of its customers. The company left open the possibility that they may retire it once and for all at some later date.

Microsoft seems to have changed their collective minds because recently Paint got an overhaul that gives it a new aesthetic in line with the new sleeker look of Windows 11. The changes amount to tweaks to the UI rather than a major upgrade to functionality and Microsoft is billing it as a “modern spin on the classic app.”

Paint fans should be pleased.  The recent change underscores the company’s commitment to keeping the app alive even if it is no longer as an integrated component of Windows but as a free app available on the Microsoft store.

Overall it’s very good news. It costs Microsoft very little to keep the app around even given the modest expense associated with updating the UI. It keeps a small but vocal segment of their user base happy.  That sounds like a win for everyone.

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