There are certainly good reasons for keeping your PC/Laptop clean and up-to-date. You don't want software that doesn't receive updates, or is not correctly licensed (well, you may want hooky software, but you shouldn't of course!); software which will leave your computer exposed to infection. An unlocked door is rather easy to open, after all.

A clean computer is a fast computer, and we all appreciate a bit of speed these days, probably to make up for sitting/standing in so many queues. Keeping it clean will also reduce errors which will keep you from your work, or just plain annoy you.

There has been a new update released for OneDrive and SharePoint Online. It may leave many of you wondering why you still can't Sync with your team's sites. It also doesn't help that Microsoft took a few days to release a changelog explain the update. The update finalised and added the Next Generation Sync Client into the main OneDrive software.

The update itself was for the Next Generation Sync Client (NGSC) to be added into OneDrive and the OneDrive Sync services. It should have really gone unnoticed, being put in place on all devices automatically. You or your admin should not need to do anything, the NGSC update should have been put in along with any updates or bug fixes to your software the moment Microsoft authorise its release. An update to a changelog for the preview version mostly focuses on previous update versions and describes this version as a fix to "top issues related to sync reliability and application stability". You can find all the release notes here. However, its not that simple and you will have to take manual steps to force SharePoint Online to sync with OneDrive, and not OneDrive For Business as it will try to.

Note: The Next Generation Sync Client does not support Sync to the personal version of OneDrive (i.e. Live.com Hotmail/Outlook accounts), only business/school versions of OneDrive and SharePoint Online. To use your version of OneDrive with your team's site and to Sync with it you'll need to perform a manual fix. This means implementing a quick Regedit fix. So open Regedit by going to start and typing "Regedit". Follow through the file tree to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\OneDrive". Then in that top level folder create a 32bit Dword value (right click, new) called "TeamSiteSyncPreview" with the value of "00000001". After restarting the browser, you will then have success with Syncing with your OneDrive team site.

Alternatively, if you want to see if you can find another way of getting around the issue, or if that didn't solve your issue then follow the instructions on this page. The instructions from Microsoft give a good way of setting up your OneDrive but nothing really specific on an issue that could have been caused by the latest update. It is still worth a shot as it may still solve an unrelated issue that could prevent file syncing. For Mac users, if the previous guide didn't help, you can follow this Mac specific guide.

We have created our own custom, one click installer to upgrade your OneDrive to the SharePoint Online sync capable version. If you are having trouble with OneDrive syncs or would like to use our program for speed and convenience then contact us through e-mail (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.), or give us a call (number below).

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The Cyber Essentials scheme was set up by the government and a group of cyber security experts to help many small to medium sized companies become digitally secure against 80% of known cyber threats. In this blog we will explore how Cyber Essentials could help your business, point you to several ways of implementing it, and suggest other things you can do to make your network secure.

Ability To Control Shared Mailboxes Sent Items In Office 365

What is it?

The ability so keep a record of emails being sent and who sent them when using a shared mailbox. This feature is especially useful when using a shared mailbox which could have several users, and is essential for some businesses.

 In Exchange 2010 there was a way to configure how sent items were set up for shared mailboxes, but this was left out of Exchange 2013. Since reviewing the customer needs (i.e. customers screaming at them for removing the feature) Microsoft have re-released this handy feature.

How does it work?

Emails can now be sent as the shared mailbox itself for example from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by the individual users. Either way will now retain a copy of that message including the sender details in the sent items for that mailbox.

Do I need to do anything?

Yes, as by default this feature is disabled. It can be turned on by setting the features' enable flag to True. You will likely need IT Support to help you with this but for more information please see this Microsoft article Technet

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Unified Comms, Skype for Business, PSTN Calling

The whole telecoms industry has been turned on its head by IP telephony. The idea of finally integrating your voice and data networks feels both long overdue and maybe within reach.Before dismissing this as yet another false dawn, there is some substance to the current developments that mean there is a good chance you will shortly be able to gain the massive benefits that Unified Comms has been promising for a long time…

So what’s going on now?

Update 07.02.2017 - Skype For Business PSTN calling is now available to businesses. However, we have noted that the companies using it are not entirely happy with the way it works from a UI perspective, yet.

Below we highlight recent developments that may show you the way forwards. Spoiler: It’s not quite ready today but maybe, just maybe very soon!

What We Want is Unified Comms in Office 365, When Do We Want it?

Microsoft launched Skype for Business mid 2015. At that time there was a lot of talk about the new voice and meeting capabilities, and there was the chance to see a technical preview if you lived in the US. The new capabilities will enhance the current Skype for Business experience and allow IT Service, and Telecoms providers to offer a complete enterprise grade communications solution as part of Office 365, or the unified comms solution of the future as we see it.

When we visited the UCEXPO in London during the summer www.ucexpo.co.uk this was the holy grail that everyone was reaching for. Unified communications isn't just about telecoms and conferencing it is about having all your data and colleagues connected in a way which is useful for your business, and being able to access the data from a central "control system" e.g. Outlook. As soon as someone invents an advanced algorithm for text to speech during meetings (that works well!) this type of system will be even more powerful. This company seems to be on the right track, www.cloudpipes.com however after requesting a demo I am #47,852 on the waiting list...Well at least I don't feel like a Guinea pig!

New Skype for Business Features Here and Coming...at Some Point

PSTN Conferencing

Only available to preview in the U.S. This feature uses the traditional public switched telephone network to allow users who have been invited to a Skype for Business meeting set up in Office 365 to join the meeting by dialling in using a mobile or landline. This is a basic traditional dial-in capability one might expect of a conferencing system. It is in addition to, single touch join options on PC's, smartphones and browsers. So if your technical director is on holiday in Spain again and can't connect to the internet he can still join by phone, ah the joy of technology. Using PSTN Conferencing in Office 365 you will be able to dial out from the system to add other people to the call too, which is neat.

THE DADDY! Cloud PBX with PSTN Calling

only available for preview to Office 365 users in the U.S of A currently. This is the feature set we are most interested in. We want to use Skype for Business to make all our calls, and have the address book linked to Outlook. Everything finally would be in one place, integrated. Unified one could say! And don't worry, when this feature comes out you will still be able to use existing on-premises phone lines for outbound and inbound calls.

Skype Meeting Broadcast Preview (available to eligible Office 365 customers worldwide)

You can use this to publish your Skype for Business meetings on the public internet making it easy for "Joe Blogs" type users to join. The system claims to support up to 10,000 people though we have never had the privilege of testing that! This makes it very easy to host huge virtual meetings like that of a volunteers meeting, town hall, or even a demonstration. This preview includes the use of Bing Pulse, for real-time polling and sentiment tracking, and Yammer.

By whom are these previews delivered?

These previews are delivered by Microsoft strategic partners such as: BT, Level 3 Communications, Orange Business Services, Verizon and Vodafone.

Titbits

Additionally Microsoft will be delivering a feature enabling direct connections to Office 365's Skype for Business customers using Azure ExpressRoute for Office 365. ExpressRoute helps customers easily create private connections between their premises and Microsoft enabled datacentres. This gives you more predictable network performance (predictable latency). This is a great resource for anyone looking for a manageable network with dedicated connectivity, reliability and additional data security. Then again seeing how easy it is to tap fibre we would still be interested to know how that is monitored.

Microsoft say they are "enabling people to connect with one another across all forms of human expression; verbal, written, visual and emotional". Well fair enough, great if you can get on a trial but for us mere mortals we have been waiting patiently for the PTSN calling and cloud PBX for years. We want it now please, thank you!

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EU Cookie Law

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small text file placed on the user's machine by a website. This file allows the website to keep track of activity on the site during visits, and access that information on subsequent visits. The information includes login and personalisation preferences, as well as analytics information. 

Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS)

The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) is an information security standard for organizations that handle cardholder information. All merchants, whether small or large, need to be PCI compliant. The burden of compliance can be daunting at first, but at Bongo IT we are here to help.

You may have noted that in 2018 some of the Payment Service Providers e.g. Barclacard have tightened their regulations and are now providing more difficult questionaires. If you now find yourself stuck, please speak to one of our team.

What is involved

Our first step is to document the cardholder data flow. This allows us to understand how sensitive data flows through your systems, and which parts of those systems need to be scanned. We will then look at reducing the number of systems involved in the flow of cardholder data, to lessen the compliance task.

After filling in the correct questionnaire for your level of interaction with cardholder data, we initiate the scan. The scan tests all the systems through which data flows for basic security vulnerabilities. After rectifying any vulnerability, and re-running the scan until no vulnerabilities remain, compliance is achieved. We will then inform your Payment Service Provider (PSP) that you are compliant. The scan will automatically run every 3 months, and will inform you if you ever drop out of compliance.