Newsletter 2014.02

 
 
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Welcome to the METHOD IT Newsletter for February 2014

New Features Galore in Office 365

Thinking about taking your business to the cloud? Microsoft Office 365, a cloud-based suite of global-standard software, is the easiest way to get there. And now there are even more reasons why this would be a shrewd move. Microsoft has kicked off 2014 with some exciting upgrades to Office 365, including renewed online versions of Word, Excel, Outlook and other familiar Office apps, Business Intelligence tools with data visualization (above), and important security enhancements.

iOS and OS X Network Security Fix

A serious flaw in network security affecting iOS devices and Mac computers was made public on February 21. Apple has since issued patches for both iOS 7 and OS X which we recommend all users install immediately.

Tips & Tricks

Flash Player and Internet Explorer Security Exploits

Adobe issued two critical updates to Flash Player this month which apply to PCs running Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Microsoft put out a security advisory for vulnerabilities in Internet Explorer 9 and 10, issuing a FixIt solution until an official patch is released. Microsoft recommends Windows 7 and 8 users upgrade to the unaffected IE 11.
Read more »

Find Free WiFi in Japan with AR App

Tokyo is sadly lacking in free WiFi compared to other major cities around the world. But help is at hand from a new mobile app which uses Augmented Reality navigation to help you find those elusive free WiFi spots in Japan.
Read more »

When Your Business Gets Bashed Online

Have you been on the receiving end of a bad write-up or online lambasting? These four common mistakes show how a business shouldn’t react to criticism on the Web.
Read more »

Microsoft Word: Top 20 Secret Features

There’s all kinds of interesting stuff tucked away in that ribbon! Check out these hidden gems to enhance your productivity in Word 2007 and above.
Read more »

News from the Web

Satya Nadella Named Microsoft CEO

After a five month search, Microsoft enterprise and cloud chief Satya Nadella has become the third CEO in the company’s history. A Computer Scientist and Engineer, Nadella has worked at Microsoft since 1992 and played a key role in its transition to cloud computing.

MS Lync Befriends Skype, Cisco, and Android

Lync Conference 2014, held February 18-20 in Las Vegas, USA, showcased some interesting upgrades for Microsoft’s enterprise-grade instant messaging, voice chat and video conferencing software. These included the first demo of Lync-Skype video chat and the announcement that Lync will soon support Cisco conferencing systems and Android tablets, furthering the Microsoft vision of being at the center of ‘universal communications’.
Lync Online is available as part of an Office 365 for enterprises suite.

Social, Marketing Updates for Dynamics CRM

This month saw the introduction of Dynamics Marketing and Social Listening for Dynamics CRM, Microsoft’s Customer Relationship Management solution and salesforce.com competitor. New features include support portals with self-service, Facebook, Twitter, Web chat and video capabilities. Social Listening lets businesses analyze market intelligence from social media conversations in real time.
Find out more about MS Dynamics CRM 2013 in our report

Massive Internet Hack a Bad Omen

On Monday February 10, a huge 400Gbps Denial of Service (DoS) attack was made on servers in Europe, even larger than last year’s attack on Spamhaus. Security specialists predict a rise in the frequency and scale of similar hacks in the near future.

Facebook Buys WhatsApp for $16bn

In its biggest acquisition so far, Facebook paid $4 billion in cash and $12 billion in Facebook stock for WhatsApp, a text-messaging app for mobile devices with 450 million users.

The World's Most Unpronounceable Tech Brands

‘Huawei’ is probably the most mangled moniker in IT, so how do you really pronounce this and the names of 19 other tech brands?