Technology Tree delivering our latest edition of updates, ideas and collaborations.
Hello from the team @ Technology Tree
This newsletter is a big one! A LOT has happened in the IT world this week and we’ve jam-packed it into this month’s newsletter!
Firstly, we’d like to congratulate Rupert on passing his MS-900: Microsoft 365 Fundamentals Exam! Next time you're on a support call with Rupert, you can quiz him on:
- Cloud concepts
- Microsoft 365 services and concepts
- Security, compliance, privacy, and trust in Microsoft 365
- Microsoft 365 license pricing and support
All our IT technicians regularly undergo continual professional development to ensure they are providing you with the best IT knowledge and advice.
To keep up to date with what’s happening in the IT world on a regular basis, follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Technology Tree have been working with Australian Honey Ventures (AHV) since late last year, supporting their IT needs to allow AHV to focus on what they know best - honey! 🍯 AHV is a 100% Australian owned company dedicated to putting more money back into the pockets of beekeepers through collaborative relationships with beekeepers and distributors. Get in touch to find out more about what we do for companies like AHV and how we can help you.
AHV recently held an event to introduce their latest stakeholder in the biz - Nick ‘Honey Badger’ Cummins. The Honey Badger will front an epic marketing campaign to promote Australian honey worldwide. We’re excited to what this dynamic partnership has in store for the future!
Want to find out how you can get involved and own shares in AHV? Check out their Facebook page.
Pictured: Nick “Honey Badger” Cummins, Jay Curtin (AHV CEO) & Derek Stewart
Global Website Outage
This week, a range of websites including popular news outlets, ecommerce giants and governmental websites have come back online following an unexplained internet outage linked to US-based cloud computing services provider Fastly.
Tech Tree managed clients, breathe a sigh of relief! As part of managed services and website management, we take care of this for you. If you are interested in finding out more about the services Tech Tree offers, please get in touch!
Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC)
Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) is an annual IT conference where Apple unveils their newest software and technology. Due to COVID-19, the event, usually held in San Jose, California, is online only this year.
This week at WWDC, Apple announced the release of iOS and iPadOS 15 which will be available later this year. The Update will include new applications like Focus & SharePlay as well as feature updates to existing applications including FaceTime, Safari & Maps.
You can read the full list of iOS 15 feature updates here.
The Latest Microsoft Windows Update: 21H1
Microsoft recognises that in the current environment, we are continuously more reliant on our devices and the Windows May 2021 Update has been purposely scoped to deliver important features that improve security, remote access and quality.
The May 2021 Update is available initially to select devices running Windows 10, version 2004 or later. If you would like to install the new release, open your Windows Update settings (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update) and select Check for updates. If the update appears, you can simply select Download and install to get started. Once the download is complete and the update is ready to install, you’ll be asked to pick the right time to finish the installation and restart your device, ensuring that the update does not disrupt your activities. Devices running either Windows 10, version 2004 or version 20H2 will have a fast overall update experience because the update will install like a monthly update. For more information on how to get the May 2021 Update, watch this video. Over the coming weeks, Microsoft will be working on a reliable download experience for all, so the update may not be offered to you right away.
So what’s new?
Although there aren’t a lot of big changes with this update, you may notice that some of the issues you faced with 20H2 have been rectified such as delays in opening Office documents and a handful of printing issues. You can find the full list of fixes here.
This Update also has enhanced data loss prevention and insider risk management solution functionalities in Microsoft 365 endpoints, as well as the inclusion of the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser. For more information about what's new in Edge, see the Microsoft Edge insider.
For any of our managed clients, we’ll take care of deploying the update for you as part of your managed services.
New UAF Vulnerability Affecting Microsoft Office
Four security vulnerabilities have been discovered in the Microsoft Office suite recently, including Excel and Office online, that could potentially be abused by bad actors by delivering attack cod via Word and Excel documents.
In a hypothetical attack scenario, researchers said the vulnerability could be triggered by simply opening a malicious Excel (.xls) file that’s served via a download link or email.
Windows users are strongly recommended to apply the patches as soon as possible to mitigate the risk and avoid attacks that could exploit this weakness.
As this week is patch week, this patch will be applied by Tech Tree to all our managed clients.
REMINDER!
Windows Users
It is very important to ensure your devices are being updated which should be happening automatically even whilst working from home, depending on your home internet. The latest version is Windows 10 version 21H1. If you want to know more about what is new in this version click here.
Patch Tuesday: Microsoft regularly releases software patches usually every second Tuesday of every month for its software products. Please make sure you apply and restart you computer this week to have these updates applied to your device. For those of you who we managed under a service agreement we will be monitoring and will be in touch if they’re not being applied.
How to update: Allow yourself at least 10 – 15 minutes to fully shutdown and restart your system. This ensures patches are applied, this can also address (and solve) some problems you may be having with your system. You can also manually check by following steps that can be found here.
Apple Users
Mac users: the latest version of macOS Big Sur is 11.4.
iPhone users: the latest version of iOS is 14.6.
iPad users: the latest version of iPadOS is 14.6.
Apple TV users: The latest version of tvOS is 14.6.
Apple Watch users: The latest version of watchOS is 7.5.
As always, feel free to contact us at the office on 08 6161 7113 or email the team at support@techtree.com.au for any assistance with your queries.
For any after hours support (charges may apply), please contact Derek Stewart directly on 0412 000 063.