Exciting News for Nonprofits: Enhanced Security with Microsoft Enterprise E5 Add-On!
What Does the E5 Security Add-On Include? The Microsoft Enterprise E5 Security add-on offers advanced security capabilities, including: Microsoft Entra ID Plan 2: Advanced identity protection and governance. Microsoft Defender for Identity: Real-time identity threat detection and response. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2: Comprehensive endpoint security. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2: Enhanced email and collaboration security. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps: Cloud application security and monitoring. * Please note, that at the time this article was written, Microsoft's nonprofit grant included Business Premium licenses. Currently they are no longer free but offered at a nonprofit discount. In-Depth Look at E5 Security Add-On Features 1. Microsoft Entra ID Plan 2 (formerly Azure AD Premium P2) What it is: An advanced identity and access management (IAM) solution with capabilities beyond standard Entra ID. Key Benefits for Nonprofits: Conditional Access & Risk-Based Policies: Detect risky sign-ins automatically and apply controls like MFA or block access. Identity Protection: Uses machine learning to detect user and sign-in risks, helping prevent account takeovers. Privileged Identity Management (PIM): Provides just-in-time access to admin roles, reducing exposure to privileged account misuse. Governance & Compliance: Automates entitlement reviews and helps ensure appropriate access to resources. 2. Microsoft Defender for Identity What it is: A cloud-based solution that monitors and secures your identity within your organization. Key Benefits for Nonprofits: Real-Time Threat Detection: Identifies lateral movement, privilege escalation, and other advanced threats within your network. Insider Threat Detection: Highlights risky behaviors from internal users, mitigating potential insider threats. Attack Surface Reduction: Detects brute force attacks, pass-the-hash, golden ticket attacks, and other identity-related threats. 3. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2 What it is: An endpoint detection and response (EDR) solution to secure servers, desktops, and mobile devices. Key Benefits for Nonprofits: Threat & Vulnerability Management: Detects and prioritizes software vulnerabilities for remediation. Behavioral Analytics: Uses AI and threat intelligence to flag abnormal activities on endpoints. Automated Investigation & Response: Reduces the load on IT staff by automating threat investigations and remediations. Cross-Platform Protection: Protects Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android devices. 4. Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Plan 2 What it is: An advanced security solution for email, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 collaboration tools. Key Benefits for Nonprofits: Threat Investigation & Hunting: Enables proactive threat hunting across email and collaboration platforms. Attack Simulation Training: Simulates phishing and other attacks to train staff on security awareness. Automated Incident Response: Automatically responds to and remediates malicious emails and collaboration-based threats. Safe Links & Safe Attachments: Protects users from malicious links and harmful file attachments. 5. Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps What it is: A cloud access security broker (CASB) that monitors and protects SaaS applications. Key Benefits for Nonprofits: App Discovery & Shadow IT Detection: Identifies unsanctioned or unmanaged apps used by staff. Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Helps prevent accidental or malicious leaks of sensitive data across cloud apps. Threat Protection: Detects suspicious behaviors in cloud applications, such as unusual login locations or mass file downloads. Compliance Monitoring: Helps organizations enforce compliance policies across cloud platforms. Why Is This Important? The E5 Security add-on offers nonprofits enterprise-grade security tools that enable them to detect, investigate, and respond to threats with greater speed and confidence. It allows organizations to proactively manage identity security, secure devices, and protect communications and data across cloud applications. By adopting these advanced solutions, nonprofits can build resilience against evolving threats and maintain the trust of their communities and stakeholders. Valuable Training for Nonprofits One of the most valuable features for nonprofits is access to cyber-attack simulation training. This training provides a safe and controlled environment to simulate real-world cyber-attacks, helping to train employees in recognizing and responding to threats. How to Get Started Nonprofits can easily add the E5 Security to their existing Business Premium licenses for $12 per user per month. This add-on ensures that your organization is equipped with the latest security tools to protect against evolving threats. For more information on how to access this add-on, visit Cybersecurity for small and medium business | Microsoft Security and Add Microsoft 365 E5 Security to your Microsoft 365 Business Premium subscription - Microsoft Learn. Empower your nonprofit with the best security solutions and continue making a positive impact in your community!Portal change
Why one earth is https://pksd2f52jz.proxynodejs.usequeue.com/ and https://xwro7wmosb.proxynodejs.usequeue.com/ now redirecting directly to Copilot? What a stupid change. No one wants this. Users want quick access to their files and apps, which the old office portal would facilitate nicely. Stop forcing copilot on your customers.Master Microsoft Forms: Your Ultimate Guide to Surveys, Quizzes, and Polls
Microsoft Forms is a versatile tool that makes creating surveys, quizzes, and polls a breeze. Whether you're collecting feedback, organizing an event, or conducting a quiz, Microsoft Forms can help you gather and analyze data with ease. In this guide, we'll walk you through how to use Microsoft Forms effectively. There are two ways you can access Microsoft Forms. Option 1: Sign into office.com with your credentials. In the top left corner click the app launcher (9 dotted square) to expand the application menu bar. If you don’t see Forms in the Apps menu, select “All apps” icon and find Forms there. Option 2: Navigate to forms.office.com How to Navigate the Forms Dashboard Navigating the Forms Dashboard is straightforward and user-friendly. Here’s how you can make the most of it: Getting Started: When you open Microsoft Forms, you'll have several options right at your fingertips: New Form: Start a fresh survey, questionnaire, or feedback form New Quiz: Craft a quiz for educational or training purposes. Quick import: Quickly generate a form or quiz from an existing file. Navigation Options: The navigator options in Microsoft Forms serve to enhance user experience and streamline form management. Each option has a specific purpose: Recent Tab: Quickly access forms and quizzes you've recently worked on, saving you time searching for them. My Forms Tab: View all the forms and quizzes you’ve created, providing an organized list of your own work. Filled Forms Tab: Keep track of forms or quizzes that you have completed or submitted, helping you review your past responses. Shared with Me Tab: Access forms or quizzes that others have shared with you, facilitating collaboration and teamwork. Favorites Tab: Easily find and access forms or quizzes you've marked as favorites, ensuring that frequently used or important forms are always at your fingertips Groups: At the bottom of the dashboard, you'll find a list of your groups. Here, you can create forms and share them with your team, ensuring smooth and effective collaboration. Now that we've mastered the Dashboard, let's dive into creating our first form! Click on the New Form button to get started. In the “Let’s get started! What’s your form about?” box, give your form a title and a brief description of what it’s about. Next, click on Quick Start to choose the type of question you’d like to begin with. Here’s a quick look at the options available: Choice: Create multiple-choice questions where respondents can select one or more answers. Text: Allow respondents to provide open-ended text responses for more detailed feedback. Date: Let respondents pick specific dates using a calendar. Ranking: Enable respondents to rank items in order of preference. Likert: Use a scale to measure attitudes or opinions, ranging from strong agreement to strong disagreement. Rating: Ask respondents to rate items using a star or numerical scale. Upload File: Let respondents upload files, such as documents or images, as part of their responses. Net Promoter Score: Measure customer loyalty by asking how likely respondents are to recommend your product or service. Section: Organize your form into sections, which is especially useful for creating multi-page forms or grouping related questions You can also make questions required or optional by toggling the required button. For more customization, click the three dots to add subtitles, labels, or even apply branching to your questions. How to customize your form After creating the content for your form, in the upper right corner select Style. Here you can choose a background image and theme for your form, or by selecting the suggested or customized tab. How to send off your form and collect responses Once you've customized your form, click on the Preview tab at the top to see how it looks on both mobile and desktop. If needed, you can go back and make any adjustments or edits. To share your form, you can either copy the provided URL under Collect Responses and send it as a link, or simply enter the name, group, or email address in the box below and hit the green button to send it directly. Below the box, you also have the option to send the form as an invite, generate a QR code, or have your web designer embed it on your website with the provided code. You also have the option to send via Outlook or a Teams (message only) at the bottom of the box. As responses start coming in, head over to the View Responses tab to view all the data. You’ll be able to see the results displayed in both graphs and detailed data, giving you a clear overview of the responses. Now that we've covered how you can use Forms to turn your data into actionable insights, we encourage you to dive in and get started right away by signing in to Microsoft Forms with your M365 account. For additional tips and resources, be sure to follow our Nonprofit Community | Microsoft Community Hub for blogs, updates, and expert advice on maximizing your nonprofit tools.Unlock the Power of Webinars with Microsoft Teams for Nonprofits (With Video Tutorial)
Webinars are an excellent way to engage with your audience, share knowledge, and promote your brand. Microsoft Teams makes it easy to create and manage webinars with its robust features and seamless integration with Microsoft 365. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you get started, based on resources from Microsoft Learn. Set up webinars on Microsoft teams.mp4 Step 1: Set Up Your Webinar Open Microsoft Teams: Launch the Microsoft Teams application on your device. Navigate to the Calendar: Click on the Calendar icon on the left-hand side of the Teams interface. If the Calendar option is not visible, click on the three dots (ellipsis) on the left-hand side to access additional applications. Create a New Webinar: Click on the arrow next to "New meeting" and select "Webinar" from the dropdown menu. Step 2: Customize the Registration Form Enter Webinar Details: Fill in the title, date, start and end times, and a description for your webinar. Add Co-organizers: Specify who will help you manage the webinar Add Presenters: Specify who will present during the webinar by adding their email addresses in the "Presenters" field. Step 3: Configure Event Options Set Meeting Options: Configure the meeting options such as mics, Q&A. Click on Edit more options to control who can bypass the lobby, Production Tools and other settings to ensure a smooth webinar experience. Step 4: Set up Presenter Bios To set up presenter bios in Microsoft Teams, follow these steps: Go to Presenter bios under the Setup section. If you haven't already added a presenter, you'll be prompted to go add one Find the presenter you want to add a bio for and select Edit. Fill in details about the presenter, such as their image, email, job title, and a description about them. When you're finished, select Save. Step 5: Set up Your Theme Click on Theming to set up your logo, Banner image and Theme color. Step 6: Set up Configurations for registrations Event Limit: Set a maximum number of registrants to manage the size of your webinar audience. The maximum capacity for a webinar is 1000 Registration Form: Add fields to form to gather information about potential attendees and understand your audience better. Step 7: Publish your registration site View Registration Page: By selecting 'View Draft,' you can thoroughly review and verify all details to ensure everything is accurate and ready before going live. Publish the Event: Once you've filled out the webinar details and registration form, publish it to make it discoverable by potential attendees. Share the Registration Link: Copy the registration link from your Teams calendar and share it via email, social media, or your website to gather an audience. Conclusion Creating a webinar in Microsoft Teams is a straightforward process that allows you to connect with your audience effectively. By following these steps, you can set up, promote, and host a successful webinar that engages your audience and achieves your goals. Whether you're a business professional, nonprofit educator, or event organizer, Microsoft Teams provides all the tools you need to deliver a seamless and impactful webinar experience. References Overview of meetings, webinars, and town halls - Microsoft Teams | Microsoft Learn
Converting Active Directory Groups to Cloud-Only with ADGMS
If you find yourself creating and maintaining on-premises groups just so they will synchronize to your Azure tenant, it’s time to free yourself from this time-consuming and potentially risky outdated practice by converting them to cloud only. Converting your groups to cloud-only will eliminate your dependence on legacy Active Directory Domain Services environments and enable you to delegate their management without resorting to custom Active Directory permissions, outdated management interfaces and even VPN or remote access solutions if your administrators are a part of today’s remote workforce. Remember all those distribution groups that your users were able to manage before their mailboxes were migrated to Exchange Online? By converting those groups to cloud-only, your users can once again manage them themselves! This eliminates the need for custom group management tools or for your helpdesk to manage membership on their behalf. So now that we’ve agreed it makes sense to convert your synced groups to cloud-only, what are your options… There are a variety of methods available to convert your groups to cloud-only, however they vary in cost and complexity, ranging from manual re-creation, which can be time-consuming and prone to error, building your own Graph API or PowerShell scripts, which require a significant understanding of Microsoft Exchange, Active Directory, PowerShell as well as rigorous testing to ensure a functional solution, or, worst case, searching the internet and re-using scripts built by others with potentially harmful results. To help simplify and ensure the safety of this process, the IMS team offers a turn-key managed solution called Active Directory Group Modernization Service, or ADGMS. ADGMS is a cloud-based, automated solution that connects to and monitors your Entra tenant, automatically re-creating groups whenever they are moved out of scope of your Entra ID Connect or Entra Cloud Sync solution. ADGMS maintains each group’s membership, including any nesting, as well as it’s email addresses, send and receive restrictions, manager or owner and even extended attributes, and ADGMS uses all this data to instantly re-create the group as cloud-only. Additionally, ADGMS provides reports on all the nested groups in your tenant, helping to identify any cases where you have circular or self-nesting that might otherwise impact mail-flow and management. These reports are then used to create your group modernization strategy by ensuring you re-create your groups in the correct order. The beauty of ADGMS is that it’s 100% automatic and customer-driven. Once ADGMS is enabled, you control the quantity and speed of your group modernizations, and the ADGMS solution handles all the heavy lifting, and because ADGMS maintains all the email routing addresses, your users won’t even realize that the group has been converted to cloud-only. It is important to note, that while ADGMS can help radically change your cloud administration model, it does not support modernization of security groups by default. That said, based on the tens of thousands of groups already modernized with ADGMS, we have found that most legacy mail-enabled security groups primarily exist in Entra for the purposes of email routing and not securing cloud resources. In those cases, the group can be modernized into a cloud-only distribution group, and the on-premises group mail-disabled and left as a security-only group. How to take advantage of ADGMS If you are interested in reducing your administrative burden when it comes to on-premises groups currently synchronizing to Entra and leveraging a proven managed solution for migration of those groups to cloud-only resources, be sure to contact the IMS team for more information about ADGMS. Learn more about IMS and start hassle-free migrations and its capabilities today on our YouTube Channel Want to speak with an expert? Reach out to us at [email protected] to connect with a sales representative.
