[m365weekly] #121

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Issue #121

☁️What’s on my mind

From time to time, someone asks me how to “kill” multi-factor authentication in their tenant. He, as an administrator, and his users, are very annoyed by the fact that they have to authenticate themselves now and then.

Usually, my answer is that it is still possible (for the time being) to turn off security defaults, but that this is an extremely bad idea that will only bring him suffering and tears in the long run.

I always add that I hope that Microsoft will soon force all users to use MFA.

“But why, Matic?”

“For the same reason that you more or less don’t ask yourself the same question anymore with all the banking transactions you do. It’s for your own security!”

What about you? Do you find MFA annoying?

Have a really nice rest of the week,
Matic Z.


Microsoft 365’s Top Five Security Vulnerabilities. The Microsoft 365 cloud-based productivity and collaboration suite is a game-changer for businesses big and small, boosting efficiency while cutting costs. Yet, as with any cloud solution, it’s vulnerable to security risks.


☁️Productivity & Modern Workplace

Transcribe Audio to Text in Microsoft Word. Most people don’t know they can transcribe audio/video with their Microsoft 365 subscription. Every single user has 300 transcribe minutes every month for speech-to-text service.

Top 20 PowerPoint tips and tricks. Check out this video tutorial on top Powerpoint tricks. So grab a coffee and get ready to learn the modern and PowerPoint. An older video, but still has lots of useful tricks.

Make Pivot Table from Multiple Excel Sheets. Ready to level up your Excel game? Check out this super easy tutorial on creating a pivot table from multiple worksheets and workbooks. 


☁️Sysadmin Stuff

15 settings to configure in the SharePoint Admin Center. If you are a SharePoint Administrator for your company, you do not want to miss these settings to configure in the SharePoint Admin Center.

Ultimate Guide to Manage Office 365 Mailboxes in Multi-Geo.  Learn how Multi-Geo in Office 365 can help your organization manage mailboxes across different regions while staying compliant with local laws. 

Assign Microsoft 365 licenses with group-based licensing in Azure. Assigning Microsoft 365 licenses can be done much easier with group-based licensing in Azure AD. Say goodbye to manually assigning licenses for each user and hello to efficient bulk license assignments. Find out how to streamline the licensing process for your organization with this step-by-step guide.

Must-Do actions for a successful team migration. Microsoft Teams is a popular collaboration application with 300 million monthly active users, making the migration of Teams a critical step in any tenant-to-tenant migration. In this article, a product manager for content migration products compiled a top ten list of must-do actions for a successful Teams migration.


☁️Security & Data Governance

Blocking More Obvious Phish – Attachment Filtering. By enabling the Attachment Filter and adding file types to impact, you can easily prevent malicious attachments, such as .shtml, from reaching your inbox and compromising your security. This article offers step-by-step instructions for setting up the Attachment Filter and adding file types to the list.

MFA is Coming for You, Ready or Not. Yeah, that’s right. I’m sure Microsoft will sooner than later enforce MFA and it’s better to get used to it now than cry later.

7 Tips to Secure Your Microsoft 365 Environment. In our hyper-connected digital world, securing your Microsoft 365 environment is absolutely essential. With the consequences of a security breach being severe, you can’t afford to take chances.


☁️Noteworthy (long)reads

Microsoft Syntex Features and Capabilities – What Can it Do For Your Organisation. Syntex is here to automate your document processes, boost efficiency, and save you valuable time and resources. This AI-powered tool can transform your content management, making your life a whole lot easier. 

“Just In Time” User Migration Approach in Azure AD B2C. Migrate users seamlessly into Azure B2C using the Just in Time (JIT) migration flow, perfect for situations where you cannot access plaintext passwords or don’t want to disrupt your users’ experience. Follow the two-phase process of Pre-Migration Staging and Seamless Migration Credential Set to ensure a smooth transition.


DATES TO KEEP IN MIND

July 18-19, 2023Microsoft Inspire 2023

August 31, 2023 – Microsoft will retire Kaizala. After the retirement date, access to and support for Kaizala will be discontinued. 

October 10, 2023 – Office 2016 and Office 2019 will no longer be supported when connecting to Microsoft 365. While these versions may still be able to connect to Microsoft 365, their connections will not be supported and may experience performance or reliability issues in the future. Official documentation here.

November 15-16, 2023Microsoft Ignite 2023


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☁️On a Less Serious Note


☁️ Last but not least …

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