M365 Weekly Newsletter
Issue #99
☁️What’s on my mind
Sometimes I feel like a little child who is excited about something he sees for the first time.
I finally took some time and configured Azure MFA properly. The confirmation window on my Microsoft Authenticator app now shows me not only the number matching but also a map with the approximate location from where someone (hopefully me) is trying to log in to Microsoft 365 services.
Does this make me any safer? Well, I think so. And it looks awesome, too.
Have a really great day.
Matic Z.
☁️Productivity & Modern Workplace
5 Essential Features of Power BI for better Dashboards. I know a bunch of people who like to crunch the numbers back and forth, find trends, analyze them and try to extract the essence that will allow them to do their job better and make their employer as happy as possible. Power BI is one of the powerful tools that are perfect for number crunchers. Haven’t tried it yet? Read this, you will probably apply for a trial.
OneDrive – Sync Icons Explanations. Ever been confused by OneDrive status icons and didn’t know exactly what they meant? This video explains everything you need to know.
How to use SharePoint – best practices, do’s and don’ts. I have certainly made the mistake in the past of reducing SharePoint to a mere substitute for a file server. SharePoint is of course much more than that. Or as the author writes: “You have SharePoint, which is in an airplane. So why use it as a bicycle or a car, then”?
Productivity Tip When Using Folders in SharePoint. But still … many good articles revolve around how to work efficiently with files and folders in SharePoint. I’m seeing a lot of these tips described for the first time.
Microsoft to Deliver Syntex Backup Service for Exchange and SharePoint. So, Microsoft is finally getting into the backup business. Again, an excellent article written by Mr. Redmond. He gives some good reasons why you should and should not use Syntex Backup and Restore.
☁️Sysadmin Stuff
Build your own ADMX templates and deploy them into Intune. If you’re on the road to moving completely to the cloud, sooner or later you’ll find yourself wanting to build your own ADMX template and import it into Intune. How to do it is, of course, explained in this article. There are also some limitations mentioned.
Comparing Outlook Groups and Shared Mailboxes. Outlook groups and shared mailboxes both help small teams work with shared email. The decision as to which to use depends on the exact needs the team has.
Migrate Yahoo Mail to Microsoft Office 365 Exchange Online using IMAP Migration: Free Method. You actually have at least 2 options for migrating email from any IMAP server. You can use paid 3rd party services or you can take the free route that Exchange Online provides out of the box. It’s really simple. Just follow the instructions in this video and your mail will be migrated to Exchange Online.
Zero Touch Onboarding & Activation of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint – Intune – In Real Life.
☁️Security & Data Governance
Use Phishing-Resistant MFA to Implement Stronger MFA Authentication. Microsoft newly rolled out a grant control called ‘Require authentication strength’ in conditional access policies. With this, you can deploy phishing-resistant MFA only for admin & executive accounts.
Enable Azure MFA number matching for extra security. Microsoft will force enable this setting for all tenants on February 27, 2023. But I recommend turning it on right away for 2 reasons. It’s resilient to MFA fatigue attacks. And second: it’s so cool.
Disable Microsoft Exchange Unnoticed Basic Authentication Protocols in One Go! Why keep anything “legacy” or “basic” turned on if it serves no purpose anymore?
☁️Noteworthy (long)reads
Everything you need to know about Azure AD. This is a relatively short article with a pretentious title, but for someone who doesn’t know Azure AD from a deeply technical point of view, it explains practically all the basics of what Azure AD is and what it isn’t.
10 easy and essential Microsoft 365 cost-saving tips. Is it possible to optimize the licensing costs of using Microsoft 365 products? Yes, of course. Not every user needs all services. Some people will only need email, others will only need Microsoft 365 Apps For Business, and some people will need practically everything Microsoft has to offer.
Nvidia and Microsoft team up to build massive AI cloud computer. Combine this “massive AIC cloud computer” with the announcement of AI model GPT-4 and we have a Skynet. Haha, I must sound like a typical alarmist. Just watched a Terminator a few days ago and I’m in the mood.
The difference between SaaS-based and cloud-based services. Ohh, come on. This one is pulled out of a thin air. SaaS is mostly cloud-based nowadays. And SaaS is not the only cloud-based thingy. There are even more cryptic acronyms than that: IaaS, PaaS, WaaS, and even XaaS if you want. Their common denominator? Cloud.
☁️Classifieds
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☁️On a Less Serious Note
☁️ Last but not least …
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