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ScamLowlife internet scum are trying to benefit from the Florida Parkland school shootings. They are now sending out phishing campaigns with topics and hashtags like Parkland, guncontrolnow, Florida, guncontrol, and Nikolas Cruz that try to trick you into clicking on a variety of links about blood drives, charitable donations, "inside" information or "exclusive" videos. Don't let them shock you into clicking on anything, or open possibly dangerous attachments you did not ask for!

Anything you receive about the Parkland shooting, be very suspicious. With this topic, think three times before you click or tap your phone. It is very possible that it is a scam, even though it might look legit or was forwarded to you by a friend -- be especially careful when it seems to come from someone you know through email, a text or social media postings because their account may be hacked.

In case you want to donate to charity, go to your usual charity by typing their name in the address bar of your browser and do not click on a link in any email. Remember, these precautions are just as important at the house as in the office, and tell your family.

Thanks for your continued vigilance.
Posted by melson  On Feb 22, 2018 at 8:17 AM
  
Considering that some websites aren't for everyone, Google is now making it possible to specify exactly who can view your content in the new Google Sites.

To publish your site to a specific audience, select the “Share with others” icon and change the Published settings to “Specific people can view when published.” Next, add the individuals you want in the “Invite people” box and select “Can view published.”

New Google Sites

This feature is available now on the web; it will roll out in the Google Drive Android and iOS apps over coming weeks. 
Posted by melson  On Feb 22, 2018 at 8:09 AM
  
Google Drive makes it easy to store and share files in the cloud so you can collaborate securely with your teams and clients while on the go. And we understand that teams work with all kinds of files and tools to get things done. Starting today, Google is making it possible to comment directly on more file types including Microsoft Office files, PDFs and images—without having to convert them into Docs, Sheets or Slides.

DriveCollaborationHeader

When you're collaborating with an external agency, negotiating a contract with a client or coordinating a sales agreement with a supplier, chances are you're dealing with multiple file formats. With this update, you can now comment on those files in Drive the way you're used to in Google Docs. In the Drive preview pane, comment, assign tasks, or mention coworkers and the people you work can reply back, even if they’re not using G Suite. Let’s say your coworker opens a file on her Windows laptop using MS Word, she will see your comment in the file and can reply right from there.

Provide quick feedback on the most popular file formats, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF files, in the Drive preview pane.

With commenting in Drive preview, you won’t need to open up other tools to complete tasks. Instead, open Microsoft Office files, like Word, Excel and PowerPoint, in Drive preview and give feedback in comments then get back to work.

AODocs, a company that helps enterprises replace their legacy document management applications and automate business processes integrated with Drive, has been testing the new Drive commenting feature for the past few months. As AODocs helps companies transition from legacy systems, they often collaborate across various licensed software.

“We frequently use the comments feature in Google Docs and Slides when preparing specification documents, reviewing project proposals and creating marketing materials,” says Stéphane Donzé, chief executive officer and founder of AODocs. “With commenting in Drive Preview feature, we can now extend the same collaboration, review and validation processes to Microsoft Office Applications, images and PDFs.”

Collaborate on Excel files—as well as other Microsoft files—all within Google Drive.

The ability to comment in Drive preview mode is just one example of interoperability between G Suite and Microsoft Office products. You can also use a Drive plug-in for Outlook to make it easier to insert files stored in Drive to an Outlook email and save incoming attachments to your Drive from Outlook. Our help center has more specifics on how to enable the plug-in for admins.

Of course, you can also convert Microsoft Office files into Docs, Sheets or Slides. Click File > Download as and select the file type you need. Lastly, you can choose to edit Microsoft files without converting them fully using Office Compatibility Mode (OCM).
Posted by melson  On Feb 15, 2018 at 9:55 AM
  

Team Drives make it easier for teams to store, search, and access important files, especially as team members change over time.

Email members of a team drive



To improve collaboration in Team Drives, Google is adding the ability to email all the members of a Team Drive.
There are two ways to email members of a Team Drive:

  • From the Team Drive: Navigate to the Team Drive, click the drop-down menu next to the Team Drive name, and click “Email members.” 
  • From within a file that is in the Team Drive: While editing or viewing the document, open the File menu, and click “Email Collaborators.”

When you select to email members, you can easily customize who your email is sent to. Use checkboxes to include or exclude “Members” who have access to the full Team Drive, “Guests” who only have access to that specific document within the Team Drive, and users with different Team Drive access levels, such as “Full,” “Edit,” “Comment,” and “View.”

Posted by melson  On Feb 13, 2018 at 7:47 AM
  

Should you be doing that on your work computer?

  • Personal pictures, social networking, online banking... These are the kind of things that you should try not to have/do on your work computer.
  • Work computers are for work, visiting work-related web sites, researching, emailing, generating Powerpoint slideshows, etc.
  • Much like posts to social networking sites... everything you say or do can be used against you.

Acceptable use policy

  • Most organizations (our included) have a 'workstation acceptable use policy' with regards to proper use of your work computer.
  • If there is one and you haven't read it, you should.
  • Visited web sites, how much time is spent on facebook, playing solitare, instant messenger chat... technically all of this can be monitored.

- Think about what you are doing... and realize, that it can be logged. Anything you post on the internet is there forever. 

Be safe online

  • Especially when it comes to visiting web sites or opening personal email... those actions that take place on your work computer can affect other work computers.
  • If you happen to visit a site that has malware on your work computer, you may now have exposed the rest of the company to a malware infection.
  • It is difficult to explain why you were doing what you were doing when its against the policy to be performing non-work related activities on your work computer. 

Try to be aware that you are using a computer that is not yours, things you do on that computer are not private. Lawyers say that anything that happens on the corporate network, the company owns and can monitor. In most cases the IT department does not have the time and resources to monitor everything, but if you give them a reason to, management may ask them to do so.

Stop Look Think - Don't be fooled KNowBe4
The KnowBe4 Security Team
KnowBe4.com


Posted by melson  On Feb 12, 2018 at 11:54 AM
  
NJCCIC LogoThe NJCCIC assesses with high confidence that educational institutions across the globe will remain attractive targets for a range of cyber-attacks designed to disrupt daily operations, steal sensitive data, instill fear in the community, and hold critical operational data for ransom

In October 2017, the US Department of Education issued an updated Cyber Advisory warning schools about a new method of cyber extortion impacting institutions across the country. Inr ecent attacks, cyber-criminals demanded large ransom payments in exchange for sensitive student record information obtained via schools’ compromised networks. In some instances, cyber-criminals made direct threats to the safety of students and staff members via SMS messaging.

According to Verizon’s 2017 Data Breach Investigations Report, the education sector was impacted by approximately 455 security incidents in 2016, with at least 73 of these events involving the disclosure of data. As the use of technology within the classroom is increasingly required for educational purposes, more schools are implementing Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies, allowing students and employees to connect their personal computers, tablets, and mobile phones to their networks. Unfortunately, if BYOD is not implemented with security in mind, schools could be exposing their networks and sensitive data to an increased risk of compromise created by vulnerable and infected devices. Sophisticated and profit-motivated threat actors are cognizant of this fact and will continue to target universities and school districts as many of them do not have adequate resources, funding, or staffing to properly protect and defend their networks.

Read more here: 20180207 - Education Sector - An Attractive Target for Cyber-Attacks.pdf
Posted by melson  On Feb 12, 2018 at 8:37 AM
  
Our new website is “live”.  After several months of work we are pleased to unveil the latest makeover.

We’ve come a long way since our first website over 20 years ago.  Click here for a look back in time and check out the Wayback Machine (http://web.archive.org/) for more.

This marks our 5th overhaul and I feel it is the best to date.

If you have any feedback, please reach out.  I’d love to hear what you think.


Website photo
Posted by melson  On Feb 02, 2018 at 7:02 AM
  
Google's certification platform now includes an updated user interface and several new features for our Google Certified Educator Level 1 and 2 exams. Even if you’ve already taken the exams, you can revisit the exam platform to view your certification history, refer a friend, or download a letter from our team to your principal. Log in here.

Google Cloud Platform
Posted by melson  On Jan 29, 2018 at 8:30 AM
  
Doodle for Google

It’s time to put your students' imaginations to work, because the Doodle 4 Google contest is now open. This year’s contest is open to K-12 students until March 2 with the theme “What inspires you?" We’ll feature the winning doodle on the Google homepage! Prizes include college scholarships, a behind the scenes experience with the Google Doodle team, and a $50,000 Google for Education technology package for the winner’s school.

Submit your doodles here.
Posted by melson  On Jan 29, 2018 at 8:26 AM
  
Chemistry has been brought into Minecraft with a new update for Minecraft: Education Edition. With input from chemistry teachers, students and Minecraft Global Mentors, the Chemistry Update offers educators and learners a fun, accessible way to explore chemistry within the immersive world of Minecraft. Make pigs fly with helium balloons, create underwater TNT or see what elements make up a grass block. If you can craft a pickaxe in Minecraft, you can learn chemistry.

The free update will launch in early February for all Minecraft: Education Edition customers.

CheminMinecraft
Posted by melson  On Jan 29, 2018 at 8:25 AM
  
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