People are constantly searching for an easier way to keep their email inboxes in order, customize their email signatures, and improve group communications. The good news is that Microsoft Outlook has these features built in, you just need to know where to look.

Clean Up your inbox

No matter how meticulously organized your Outlook inbox is, there’s always room for improvement. For a little computer-assisted help, try the ‘Clean Up’ feature.

From your Inbox, click the Home tab and choose from Outlook’s three Clean Up options:

• Clean Up Conversation – Reviews an email thread or a conversation and deletes redundant text.
• Clean Up Folder – Reviews conversations in a selected folder and deletes redundant messages.
• Clean Up Folder & Subfolders – Reviews all messages in a selected folder and any subfolders, and deletes redundant messages in all of them.

Ignore (unnecessary) conversations

An overstuffed inbox is often caused by group conversations that aren’t relevant to you. The Ignore button helps you organize your inbox and focus on relevant emails.

• Select a message, then click Home > Ignore > Ignore Conversation. You can also do this by opening a message in a new window and clicking Ignore under the Delete function. To recover an ignored message, go to the Deleted Items folder, and click Ignore > Stop Ignoring Conversation.

Send links instead of a file copy

Help your colleagues save storage space by sending a link to a cloud version of a file instead of the file itself. This is particularly useful when sending massive files. You can also set permissions to allow recipients to edit and collaborate on linked files in real time.

• Upload the file you wish to send on OneDrive and send it to your recipients. From the message box, click Attach File > Browse web locations > OneDrive.

Improve meetings with Skype and OneNote

Outlook allows you to combine Skype’s HD video and screen-sharing features with OneNote’s organizational and project planning functions. It’s easy:

• Go to the Meeting tab in Outlook, then click Skype meeting and send the link to the participants. After the meeting has started, select Meeting Notes (under the Meeting tab) and choose whether you want to Take notes on your own or Share notes with the meeting.

Tag contacts

To get the attention of a specific person in a group email message, use the @Mention function. This works particularly well for emails sent to multiple recipients or if you simply want to convey the urgency of your message.

• In the email body or meeting request, type the ‘@’ symbol followed by the first and last name of the person you wish to tag (e.g., @firstnamelastname).
• To search for emails you’re tagged in, select Filter Email from the Home tab and choose Mentioned, then choose Mentioned.

These are just a few strategies for getting more out of Microsoft’s email platform. To unlock Outlook’s true potential, you need the support of certified IT professionals. Give us a call today.

The post Work Smarter in Outlook with these tips appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.

Source: Pronto

If you want to use your laptop in an airport, a co-working space, or a cafe, the first thing you would look for is a power socket. If you are not lucky enough to find an available outlet, you’ll have to depend on your laptop’s battery (assuming it still has power after your last charge). The following tips should optimize your laptop’s battery so it will last long.

Some truths about your laptop battery

Batteries in many modern devices are lithium-based — either lithium-ion or lithium-polymer — and users must take note of the following guidelines for proper battery maintenance:

• Leaving your battery completely drained will damage it.
• Batteries have limited lifespans. So no matter what you do, yours will age from the very first time you charge it. This is because as time passes, the ions will no longer be able to flow efficiently from the anode to the cathode, thereby reducing the battery’s capacity.

What else can degrade your battery

Besides being naturally prone to deterioration, your battery can degrade due to higher-than-normal voltages, which happens when you keep your battery fully charged at all times. Even though a modern laptop battery cannot be overcharged, doing so will stress and harm your battery.

Both extremely high temperatures (above 70°F) and low temperatures (32–41°F) can also reduce battery capacity and damage its components. The same goes for storing a battery for long periods of time, which can lead to the state of extreme discharge. Another factor is physical damage. Remember that batteries are made up of sensitive materials, and sustaining a shock from a fall or similar  can damage them.

How to prolong your battery life

Now that you know some facts about your laptop battery, it’s time to learn how to delay its demise:

• Never leave your battery completely drained.
• Don’t expose your battery to extremely high or low temperatures.
• If possible, charge your battery at a lower voltage.
• If you need to use your laptop for a long period of time while plugged into a power source, it’s better to remove the battery. This is because a plugged-in laptop generates more heat that will damage your battery.
• When you need to store your battery for a few weeks, you should recharge your battery to 40% and remove it from your laptop for storage.

These are just a few tips on extending the life of your hardware. There are many more ways you can maximize your hardware efficiency and extend its longevity. Call our experts today to find out more!

The post Tips for extending laptop battery life appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.

Source: Pronto

From accounting to inventory, small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) need various systems to function, and managing them simultaneously is a colossal task. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software can help you manage these systems efficiently and improve business performance.

ERP explained

ERP is a program that integrates all your systems into a single database, so if you want to take a look at human resources, accounting, or sales, you only need to access one system instead of three. In practice, this means that everyone, regardless of department, will be able to access the same information. This also means that employees will no longer have to re-enter data onto their department-specific database, because all databases will already have been linked.

Deeper insight

Simplicity isn’t the only merit of an ERP, however. A single database lets you see all information across every branch of your business and gain actionable insights that enable you to make more informed decisions. Financial reporting, for example, benefits a lot from ERP, since general ledgers, revenue recognition, and tax reporting functionality are built into most ERP software solutions.

In addition to this, ERP systems come equipped with business intelligence features that provide intuitive analysis into your operations and forecast the growth of your company. This helps you and other executives identify bottlenecks and business opportunities.

Better customer service

ERP makes better and faster customer service possible. For instance, if a customer asks whether or not an item is still in stock, customer service representatives can easily access the ERP database and provide a quick answer, instead of having to ask the supply manager.

Simplified compliance

With an ERP, meeting stringent data management regulations is much easier. That’s because the software generally comes with audit functionality, giving you full visibility into your processes. It also provides templates and guidance to help you meet regulations within your industry, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the International Financial Reporting Standards.

Streamlined workflows

ERP streamlines workflows by eliminating redundant and time-consuming tasks through automation. For one, you can set your ERP to instantly reorder materials when stock levels have reached a certain threshold. This ensures that your enterprise won’t have to deal with out-of-stock or overstocking incidents. Moreover, you can even assign workflows that route invoices and reimbursements to the right accountant to make sure tasks are handled quickly and efficiently.

Rich integrations

One of the most beautiful things about ERP is its integration capabilities: you can integrate it with other services to extend its capabilities. For example, if you need to track customer information and sales figures, you can combine ERP with customer relationship management software or pair it with e-commerce services to streamline web-based purchases. This way, your processes will be seamless and everything you need will be at your fingertips.

As your business grows, your business needs change as well. ERP systems can adapt to your ever-changing needs by giving you unparalleled business management solutions. If you need to add further value to your business, call us today.

The post Manage your business better with ERP appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.

Source: Pronto

The financial sector has long been heavily targeted by cybercriminals. Over the years, the number of attacks that involved extortion, social engineering, and credential-stealing malware has surged rapidly. This means that financial institutions should strive to familiarize themselves with the threats and the agents behind them. Here are seven new threats and tactics, techniques, and procedures that security professionals should know about.

Extortion
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, which are typically delivered from massive botnets of zombie computers or internet of things (IoT) devices, have been used to bring down banking networks. This occurs when a targeted server or system is overwhelmed by multiple compromised networks. It’s essentially like a traffic jam clogging up the highway, preventing regular traffic from arriving at its intended destination.

Some cybercriminals are relentless with DDoS attacks and follow them up with cyberextortion, demanding payment in return for release from costly downtime. Banks cannot defend against these attacks alone, so they rapidly share information among themselves through organizations such as FS-ISAC4 and rely upon the ability of their internet service provider to handle and redirect massive quantities of traffic.

Social media attacks
This happens when fraudsters use fake profiles to gather information for social engineering purposes. Thankfully, with new regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), big companies like Facebook and Twitter have significantly enhanced their security and privacy policy with regards to their data handling practices. The unprecedented reach of social media is something companies cannot afford to ignore because of the possible implications a data breach can have on businesses.

Spear phishing
Spear phishing is an attack where cybercriminals send out targeted emails ostensibly from a known or trusted sender in order to trick the recipient into giving out confidential information. Over the years, hackers have upped their game and cast a bigger net, targeting unwitting employees to wire money. This attack is called business email compromise (BEC), where a fraudster will purport to be a CEO or CFO and request for large money transfers to bogus accounts.

Point-of-sale (PoS) malware
PoS malware targets PoS terminals to steal customer payment (especially credit card) data from retail checkout systems. Cybercriminals use a memory scraper that operates by instantly detecting unencrypted type 2 credit card data, which is then sent to the attacker’s computer to be sold on underground sites.

ATM malware
GreenDispenser is an ATM-specific malware that infects ATMs and allows criminals to extract large sums of money while avoiding detection. Recently, reverse ATM attacks have also emerged. Here, PoS terminals are compromised and money mules reverse transactions after money is withdrawn or sent to another bank account. In October 2015, issuers were mandated to shift to EMV or Chip-and-PIN system to address the weakness of the previous payment system.

Credential theft
Dridex, a well-known credential-stealing software, is a banking Trojan that is generally distributed through phishing emails. It infects computers, steal credentials, and obtain money from victims’ bank accounts.

Other sophisticated threats
Various data breach methods can be combined to extract data on a bigger scale. Targeting multiple geographies and sectors at once, this method normally involves an organized crime syndicate or someone with a highly sophisticated setup. For example, the group Carbanak primarily targeted financial institutions by infiltrating internal networks and installing software that would drain ATMs of cash.

Additionally, with the rise of cryptocurrency, cybercriminals are utilizing cryptojacking, a method that involves the secret use of devices to mine cryptocurrency.

The creation of defensive measures requires extensive knowledge of the lurking threats, and our team of experts is up to date on the latest security information. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us to find out more about TTPs and other weapons in the hacker’s toolbox.

The post Cyberthreats and the finance sector appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.

Source: Pronto

Many internet users still do not understand what the padlock icon in their web browser’s address bar is for. It represents HTTPS, a security feature that authenticates websites and protects the information users submit to them. This is an important feature that lets users know whether the site they are visiting is secure or not.

HTTPS Encryption

When you visit a website that doesn’t use HTTPS, which is common with older websites that have been left on its domain with minimal intervention, everything you type or click on that website is sent across the network in plain text. So, if your bank’s website doesn’t use the latest protocols, your login information can be decrypted by anyone with even the most basic tools.

HTTPS Certificates

The other thing outdated web browsing lacks is publisher certificates. When you enter a web address into your browser, your computer uses an online directory to translate that text into numerical addresses then saves that information on your computer so it doesn’t need to check the online directory every time you visit a known website.

The problem is that if your computer is hacked, it could be tricked into directing www.google.com to the address 8.8.8.255, for example, even if that’s a malicious website. Oftentimes, this strategy is implemented to send users to sites that look exactly like what they expected, but are actually false-front sites designed to trick you into providing your credentials.

HTTPS creates a new ecosystem of certificates that are issued by the online directories mentioned earlier. These certificates make it impossible for you to be redirected to a fraudulent website.

What this means for daily browsing

Most people hop from site to site too quickly to check each one for padlocks and certificates. Unfortunately, HTTPS is way too important to ignore. Here are a few things to consider when browsing:

If your browser marks a website as “unsafe”, it is always best to err on the side of caution; do not click “proceed anyway” unless you are absolutely certain nothing private will be transmitted.
There are web browser extensions that create encrypted connections to unencrypted websites (HTTPS Everywhere is a reliable Firefox, Chrome, and Opera extension that encrypts your communications with websites).
HTTPS certificates don’t mean anything if you don’t recognize the company’s name. For example, goog1e.com (with the “l” replaced with a one) could have a certificate, but that doesn’t mean it’s a trustworthy site. Many unscrupulous cybercriminals utilize similar spellings of legitimate websites to fool people into thinking that they are in a secure site. Always be vigilant.
Avoid sites that don’t use the HTTPS protocol — it can be as simple as that.

When you’re ready for IT support that handles the finer points of cybersecurity like safe web browsing, give our office a call.

The post Why is HTTPS important? appeared first on Parallel Edge, Inc.

Source: Pronto