M365 Weekly Newsletter
Issue #147
☁️What’s on my mind
I had one of those “Lord of the Rings” moments this week.
As my Sauron’s eye has not been fixed on what’s going on with Microsoft 365 Lighthouse for a long time, I completely missed that the service has evolved tremendously in the last year and a half, gaining new functionalities and no longer being purely security-oriented.
It is worth looking at what the official Microsoft documentation says about it.
Have a nice rest of the week,
Matic Z.
☁️Productivity & Modern Workplace
The Ultimate Guide to Google Icons in Microsoft Office. Google offers over 3,000 icons in various categories, such as Activities, Audio & Video, Business & Payments, and more, that can be easily added to your Microsoft Office documents. How? Read on.
How to Use the NEW OneDrive Experience. Dive into the new Microsoft OneDrive experience and uncover AI-enhanced features, advanced file syncing, and a refresher on the sync process to help you master this essential tool.
Forms – You can now use pictures as choice. Microsoft Forms now allows you to use images in your choice questions, making your surveys and questionnaires more engaging. You can easily import pictures from OneDrive, your local computer, or the internet with a file size limit of 5 Mb.
Where does Microsoft 365 store your data? Knowing where your data is stored helps with organization, compliance, and retention requirements. Additionally, some apps store data in Microsoft data centers outside of your tenant. Understanding these storage locations helps you effectively manage and safeguard your organization’s valuable information.
☁️Sysadmin Stuff
Deploy a Batch File using Intune: A Step-by-Step Guide. Deploying a batch file with Intune involves converting the file to the .intunewin format, uploading it as a Win32 app, syncing Intune policies, and monitoring the deployment. Intune allows seamless deployment of batch files to Windows devices within your organization, automating various tasks and administrative functions.
How to change default MFA method for all users. You can set the default Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) method for all users at once with PowerShell, making it easier and faster to manage. Remember, Microsoft Authenticator is more secure than SMS or phone calls.
☁️Security & Data Governance
How to protect Microsoft Teams with Microsoft 365 Defender. Microsoft has recently enhanced its Teams protection by introducing new features within Microsoft 365 Defender, including Zero-hour auto protection (ZAP), reporting suspicious Teams messages, and a Teams Message Entity Panel. These new capabilities help detect and prevent malicious attacks via Microsoft Teams and keep your organization’s collaboration secure in the increasingly remote work environment.
Exfiltrating NTHashes by abusing Microsoft Entra Domain Services. Microsoft Entra Domain Services (MEDS) can be abused to exfiltrate NTHashes from on-prem Active Directory. Exporting NTHashes to Entra ID requires Local Administrator permissions on a server running the Entra ID Connect. However, exporting NTHashes from Entra ID requires either Global Administrator or Cloud Application Administrator permissions. While this attack scenario is not very likely, it’s essential to be aware of the potential risks.
5 ways to secure identity and access for 2024. In 2023, the security landscape experienced a record 30 billion attempted password attacks per month and a rising demand for cybersecurity experts. This surge is partly due to generative AI and large language models, which present new opportunities and challenges for security professionals.
Overview of Microsoft 365 Archive (Preview). Microsoft 365 Archive offers cost-effective storage for inactive SharePoint sites, providing a cold storage tier with the same searchability, security, and compliance standards at a reduced cost. The service allows for ultra-fast archiving, lower storage consumption costs, lossless metadata retention, and decluttering of active and inactive content.
☁️Noteworthy (long)reads
IT Pros Don’t Have Enough Hours in the Week to Get the Job Done. ITPro Today’s 2023 Salary Survey reveals that 24% of IT professionals struggle to complete their work within a standard 40-to 45-hour workweek, possibly due to staffing shortages and increasing work demands.
IT Industry Anti-Predictions: Tech Trends We Won’t See in 2024. Despite the hype, 2024 might not be the year where generative AI disrupts IT, every company becomes an AI company, all workloads move to the cloud, cloud-native technologies surge or tech hiring fully rebounds.
☁️Classifieds
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☁️On a Less Serious Note
☁️ Last but not least …
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