Category: Microsoft
Category Archives: Microsoft
Azure Virtual Desktop how to create host pool
What is Host Pool
Collection of one or more virtual machines (VMs) that serve as session hosts
Providing virtual desktops or remote applications to users
Efficient management, scaling, and maintenance of the virtual desktop infrastructure
Example Host Pool
A company Acme Corp, with multiple departments
Sales, Marketing, and Engineering. Each department has different host pool
Sales Department Host Pool
Host pool contains VMs with applications specific to the sales team
Marketing Department Host Pool
Host pool contains VMs with applications specific to the Marketing team
Engineering Department Host Pool
Host pool contains VMs with applications specific to the Engineering team
Host Pool Type
Personal host pool
Each user is assigned a dedicated session host VM
Individual desktop experience
Settings, data, and applications remain the same between sessions
Example:
A company assigns dedicated VMs to their executives and managers for personalized and consistent virtual desktop experiences
Assignment Type
Direct
Administrators manually assign specific session host VMs to individual users
Automatic
Azure Virtual Desktop automatically assigns a session host VM to users when they first log in to the host pool
Pooled host pool
Multiple users to share a set of session host virtual machines (VMs) within a host pool
Users are dynamically assigned an available session host VM from the pool
Two primary load balancing algorithms available for pooled host pools
Breadth-first load balancing
This algorithm distributes user sessions across the maximum number of available session host VMs in the host pool
Example
Pooled host pool with 4 session host VMs maximum session limit 6 , If there are 16 concurrent user sessions each VM will have 4 sessions on average maintaining a balanced distribution
Depth-first load balancing
This algorithm fills each session host VM to its maximum session limit before moving on to the next VM
Example
Pooled host pool with 4 session host VMs maximum session limit 6 , If there are 16 concurrent user sessions each VM will have maximum session limit then only move to next session
Application Group Type
Logical grouping of applications
App groups allow administrators to organize and manage application
Two primary app group types
Desktop App Group
Provides users with a full desktop experience
Allowing access to all applications session host VMs within the host pool
A desktop app group named Desktop Application Group
Automatically created when a host pool is created
Not support to create another desktop app group in the same host pool while a desktop app group exist
Example :
Software development team requires access to a complete Windows 10 desktop experience with various integrated development environments (IDEs), version control tools, and other applications
RemoteApp Group
Provides users access to individual applications installed on session host VMs Instead of presenting an entire desktop environment
You can create multiple remote app group as your requirement
Example:
A sales team needs access to a customer relationship management (CRM) application and a presentation tool
RemoteApp app group with these applications and assigns it to the sales team members
Application groups User Assignment
A user can be assigned to both a desktop app group and one or more RemoteApp app groups in the same host pool.
Users can only launch one type of app group per session
Workspace
A workspace is a logical grouping of application groups.
Each application group must be associated with a workspace for users to see the desktops and applications published to them
complete setup Guide click the below link
https://rijoskill.com/get-started-with-azure-virtual-desktop-a-complete-tutorial/
What is Host PoolCollection of one or more virtual machines (VMs) that serve as session hostsProviding virtual desktops or remote applications to usersEfficient management, scaling, and maintenance of the virtual desktop infrastructureExample Host PoolA company Acme Corp, with multiple departmentsSales, Marketing, and Engineering. Each department has different host poolSales Department Host PoolHost pool contains VMs with applications specific to the sales teamMarketing Department Host PoolHost pool contains VMs with applications specific to the Marketing teamEngineering Department Host PoolHost pool contains VMs with applications specific to the Engineering teamHost Pool TypePersonal host poolEach user is assigned a dedicated session host VMIndividual desktop experienceSettings, data, and applications remain the same between sessionsExample:A company assigns dedicated VMs to their executives and managers for personalized and consistent virtual desktop experiencesAssignment TypeDirectAdministrators manually assign specific session host VMs to individual usersAutomaticAzure Virtual Desktop automatically assigns a session host VM to users when they first log in to the host poolPooled host poolMultiple users to share a set of session host virtual machines (VMs) within a host poolUsers are dynamically assigned an available session host VM from the poolTwo primary load balancing algorithms available for pooled host poolsBreadth-first load balancingThis algorithm distributes user sessions across the maximum number of available session host VMs in the host poolExamplePooled host pool with 4 session host VMs maximum session limit 6 , If there are 16 concurrent user sessions each VM will have 4 sessions on average maintaining a balanced distributionDepth-first load balancingThis algorithm fills each session host VM to its maximum session limit before moving on to the next VMExamplePooled host pool with 4 session host VMs maximum session limit 6 , If there are 16 concurrent user sessions each VM will have maximum session limit then only move to next sessionApplication Group TypeLogical grouping of applicationsApp groups allow administrators to organize and manage applicationTwo primary app group typesDesktop App GroupProvides users with a full desktop experienceAllowing access to all applications session host VMs within the host poolA desktop app group named Desktop Application GroupAutomatically created when a host pool is createdNot support to create another desktop app group in the same host pool while a desktop app group existExample :Software development team requires access to a complete Windows 10 desktop experience with various integrated development environments (IDEs), version control tools, and other applicationsRemoteApp GroupProvides users access to individual applications installed on session host VMs Instead of presenting an entire desktop environmentYou can create multiple remote app group as your requirementExample:A sales team needs access to a customer relationship management (CRM) application and a presentation toolRemoteApp app group with these applications and assigns it to the sales team membersApplication groups User AssignmentA user can be assigned to both a desktop app group and one or more RemoteApp app groups in the same host pool.Users can only launch one type of app group per sessionWorkspaceA workspace is a logical grouping of application groups.Each application group must be associated with a workspace for users to see the desktops and applications published to themcomplete setup Guide click the below link https://rijoskill.com/get-started-with-azure-virtual-desktop-a-complete-tutorial/ Read More
Excel Formulas HELP!!!
I am reaching out for last minute help, please please.
I have an assignment due by midnight and need help with formulas. Honestly I just don’t know how to use them properly. I’ve tried several times and get the Value error or something weird but no numbers are coming thru. I thought i was entering these formulas correctly.
Formula for: Converting my budget into the currency for said country and convert the amount of units of the local currency into dollars.
Formula for: I need to use excel functions to find the slope and y-intercept of the best-fit line for the given coordinates. Also need to calculate the avrg weekly income for all the years of edu using the slope and y-intercept to calculate. What is BLS DATA as a scatterplot?
Formula for: convert miligrams per milliliter to micrograms per teaspoon (this is just one out of 4 formulas that I need.
I am reaching out for last minute help, please please. I have an assignment due by midnight and need help with formulas. Honestly I just don’t know how to use them properly. I’ve tried several times and get the Value error or something weird but no numbers are coming thru. I thought i was entering these formulas correctly. Formula for: Converting my budget into the currency for said country and convert the amount of units of the local currency into dollars. Formula for: I need to use excel functions to find the slope and y-intercept of the best-fit line for the given coordinates. Also need to calculate the avrg weekly income for all the years of edu using the slope and y-intercept to calculate. What is BLS DATA as a scatterplot? Formula for: convert miligrams per milliliter to micrograms per teaspoon (this is just one out of 4 formulas that I need. Read More
Private SharePoint sites with Everyone except external users
I’m trying to find the Graph API endpoints that will allow me to get a list of all SharePoint sites that are private (not public). And then check to see if those sites have the group Everyone except external users added. Any help would be much appreciated.
I’m trying to find the Graph API endpoints that will allow me to get a list of all SharePoint sites that are private (not public). And then check to see if those sites have the group Everyone except external users added. Any help would be much appreciated. Read More
Can I use a Copilot with Microsoft 365 even if they are licensed in different regions?
Hi, I work in a company that has offices in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. My Singapore-based office has decided to adopt Copilot for our work tasks and we wish to engage a Singapore vendor to get the necessary licenses. However, our Microsoft 365 licenses are from New Zealand. Will this pose a problem?
We really want to engage the Singapore vendor because of how we’d be able to correspond more closely regarding the Copilot functionality. I did a preliminary search online and the information I found shows that this arrangement should be fine since Microsoft 365 and Copilot are separate products and it doesn’t matter if they are bought from different regions (save that it’ll affect where you get customer support from, etc). Can I confirm my understanding with the community?
Hi, I work in a company that has offices in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. My Singapore-based office has decided to adopt Copilot for our work tasks and we wish to engage a Singapore vendor to get the necessary licenses. However, our Microsoft 365 licenses are from New Zealand. Will this pose a problem? We really want to engage the Singapore vendor because of how we’d be able to correspond more closely regarding the Copilot functionality. I did a preliminary search online and the information I found shows that this arrangement should be fine since Microsoft 365 and Copilot are separate products and it doesn’t matter if they are bought from different regions (save that it’ll affect where you get customer support from, etc). Can I confirm my understanding with the community? Read More
General Availability of SQL FCI and AG Features SQL Server Enabled by Azure Arc
We have good news. Two business continuity features for SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc are now generally available:
View Failover Cluster Instance
Manage Availability Group
With Azure Arc, these features help you manage high availability and disaster recovery for SQL Server workloads across on-premises, hybrid and multi- cloud environment. You can now manage them all from the comfort and convenience of the Azure portal.
View Failover Cluster Instance lets you see your failover cluster instances. You can find out things like:
Which nodes are active or passive
What is the network name
What databases they have
This capability mirrors the convenience of managing standalone instances of SQL Server enabled by Azure Arc.
To learn more, read Viewing Always On Failover Cluster Instances in Azure Arc.
Manage Availability Group lets you check and control your availability groups. You can do things like:
See what availability groups you have
See their status and health
Failover to another node, if needed
To learn more, read Inventory and Status of Always On Availability Groups.
We want to hear your feedback about these features. Thank you for choosing Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server for your on-premises, hybrid and multi-cloud solutions.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Drop Down Menu to display text from specific cells.
Hi.
I’m a teacher, and I’m trying to create a marking assessment sheet, in which if I select a Level from a drop down menu, it will display the relevant information.
I’ve looked at lots of functions, but have really struggled to find anything that works.
Basically, my mark scheme has 3 columns (grids) and within each column, there are 5 levels, which each have different information. What I want to happen is that as soon as a user selects the level from a grid, it displays the information from the mark scheme in the cell underneath (see picture underneath, I couldn’t fit all of the data in the print screen). I can’t use IF, as there are more than two levels and I’ve tried using VLOOKUP to no avail. Can anyone help? The file is attached.
Hi. I’m a teacher, and I’m trying to create a marking assessment sheet, in which if I select a Level from a drop down menu, it will display the relevant information.I’ve looked at lots of functions, but have really struggled to find anything that works. Basically, my mark scheme has 3 columns (grids) and within each column, there are 5 levels, which each have different information. What I want to happen is that as soon as a user selects the level from a grid, it displays the information from the mark scheme in the cell underneath (see picture underneath, I couldn’t fit all of the data in the print screen). I can’t use IF, as there are more than two levels and I’ve tried using VLOOKUP to no avail. Can anyone help? The file is attached. Read More
Visualstudio / MCT Benefits for Azure and PowerBI not working
Hi – I am an active MCT since 2021 and recently I saw that my Azure Account and PowerBI Account that I got as virtue of MCT benefits are not working.
However, my MCT is active, my certifications are active and my VisualStudio Subscriptions are also active.
What is not active is association of the same in Azure and also PowerBI.
Please help and advice on what could be done.
Thanks
Hi – I am an active MCT since 2021 and recently I saw that my Azure Account and PowerBI Account that I got as virtue of MCT benefits are not working.However, my MCT is active, my certifications are active and my VisualStudio Subscriptions are also active.What is not active is association of the same in Azure and also PowerBI. Please help and advice on what could be done. Thanks Read More
Excel formula IF AND OR
Hello,
I am trying to use IF AND OR to have some value from column A copied in the columns H / I / J / K / L / M with different conditions of data in columns B/C/D/E/F/G
in the image some example of data and result with the formula I have tried, in red strikethrough value that should not be returned and in orange value that are not copied from column A
thank for the help
D
Hello, I am trying to use IF AND OR to have some value from column A copied in the columns H / I / J / K / L / M with different conditions of data in columns B/C/D/E/F/Gin the image some example of data and result with the formula I have tried, in red strikethrough value that should not be returned and in orange value that are not copied from column A thank for the helpD Read More
Dev Channel update to 127.0.2638.2 is live.
Hello Insiders! We released 127.0.2638.2 to the Dev channel! This includes numerous fixes. For more details on the changes, check out the highlights below.
Added Features:
Introduced an icon for shared links.
Improved Reliability:
Resolved an issue causing workspaces to crash when exiting the hover menu.
Fixed a browser crash on android.
Resolved an issue where the links were unresponsive after selecting ‘submit’ in Copilot on android.
Changed Behavior:
Resolved an issue where the toolbar would vanish upon using the back button.
Fixed an issue where the close button was absent on the ‘Find on Page’ bar.
Fixed an issue where the ‘Profile Preferences’ page had incorrectly defined heading levels.
Fixed an issue where the history search results on the edge://history page were displaying incorrectly.
Fixed an issue where the ‘+’ icon was not displayed following the installation of a theme.
Mac: Fixed an issue where the UI dropdown was malfunctioning, displaying a black background instead of grey.
iOS: Resolved a functionality issue with the Copilot toolbar that prevented it from operating correctly on iOS.
Android:
Fixed an issue where the ‘Open downloaded page’ displayed a blank page on Android devices.
Resolved a problem that prevented switching to AAD after opening a URL from Outlook on Android.
Fixed an issue where the number of comments in the extension hub was displaying ellipses (‘…’) on Android.
See an issue that you think might be a bug? Remember to send that directly through the in-app feedback by heading to the … menu > Help and feedback > Send feedback and include diagnostics so the team can investigate.
Thanks again for sending us feedback and helping us improve our Insider builds.
~Gouri
Hello Insiders! We released 127.0.2638.2 to the Dev channel! This includes numerous fixes. For more details on the changes, check out the highlights below.
Announcing Dynamics 365 Contact Center – a Copilot-first cloud contact center to transform service experiences – The Official Microsoft Blog
Added Features:
Introduced an icon for shared links.
Improved Reliability:
Resolved an issue causing workspaces to crash when exiting the hover menu.
Fixed a browser crash on android.
Resolved an issue where the links were unresponsive after selecting ‘submit’ in Copilot on android.
Changed Behavior:
Resolved an issue where the toolbar would vanish upon using the back button.
Fixed an issue where the close button was absent on the ‘Find on Page’ bar.
Fixed an issue where the ‘Profile Preferences’ page had incorrectly defined heading levels.
Fixed an issue where the history search results on the edge://history page were displaying incorrectly.
Fixed an issue where the ‘+’ icon was not displayed following the installation of a theme.
Mac: Fixed an issue where the UI dropdown was malfunctioning, displaying a black background instead of grey.
iOS: Resolved a functionality issue with the Copilot toolbar that prevented it from operating correctly on iOS.
Android:
Fixed an issue where the ‘Open downloaded page’ displayed a blank page on Android devices.
Resolved a problem that prevented switching to AAD after opening a URL from Outlook on Android.
Fixed an issue where the number of comments in the extension hub was displaying ellipses (‘…’) on Android.
See an issue that you think might be a bug? Remember to send that directly through the in-app feedback by heading to the … menu > Help and feedback > Send feedback and include diagnostics so the team can investigate.
Thanks again for sending us feedback and helping us improve our Insider builds.
~Gouri Read More
Nvidia update isn’t showing up and everything I’ve tried hasn’t worked. Please help
over the last while I realized i needed to update my Nvidia graphics drivers but i have not had the option to update them through every method i have tried and I don’t know why this is. I’ve been able to update the drivers just fine through windows update for previous versions but now I’m stuck on version 536.19 which was released two weeks shy of a year ago. if you are wondering my
over the last while I realized i needed to update my Nvidia graphics drivers but i have not had the option to update them through every method i have tried and I don’t know why this is. I’ve been able to update the drivers just fine through windows update for previous versions but now I’m stuck on version 536.19 which was released two weeks shy of a year ago. if you are wondering my Read More
Path Traversal Issue
public bool Example (string getinput)
{
var example = System.Web.Security.AntiXss.AntiXssEncoder.HtmlFormUrlEncode(getinput);
}
Method Example gets dynamic data from the getinput element.
This element’s value then flows through the code and is eventually used in a file path for local disk access in another log file. This may cause a Path Traversal vulnerability.
Here we used AntiXssEncoder to the getinput but still we have the path traversal vulnerability is there any solution for that.
public bool Example (string getinput){var example = System.Web.Security.AntiXss.AntiXssEncoder.HtmlFormUrlEncode(getinput);}Method Example gets dynamic data from the getinput element. This element’s value then flows through the code and is eventually used in a file path for local disk access in another log file. This may cause a Path Traversal vulnerability. Here we used AntiXssEncoder to the getinput but still we have the path traversal vulnerability is there any solution for that. Read More
Windows Server 2025 Storage Performance with Diskspd
Windows Server 2025 is the most secure and performant release yet! Download the evaluation now!
Looking to migrate from VMware to Windows Server 2025? Contact your Microsoft account team!
Looking to migrate from VMware to Windows Server 2025? Contact your Microsoft account team!
Windows Server 2025 Storage Performance with Diskspd
Hi Folks – Dan Cuomo here to talk about some improvements in Diskspd storage measurement and the improvements you’ll see in Windows Server 2025 storage performance.
If you manage on-premises servers, you know one of the final tests you run before going to production is a performance test. You want to ensure that when you migrate virtual machines to that host, or you install SQL server on that machine, that you’re going to get the expected IOPS, the expected latency, or whatever other metrics you deem important for your business’ workloads.
So, after all the group policies have been applied, firewall rules are set, agents are installed and configured (or anything else you do in your deployment playbook), you download Diskspd, NTTTCP, and other performance testing tools you use to test this server compared to your baseline (if you don’t do this, you should be!).
Having this performance baseline allows you to answer questions like, “Is this cluster ready for production” or “Is my VM performing as expected on this hardware?” Without a solid performance baseline, you simply cannot answer these questions with confidence. In Azure, we operate some of the most performance demanding workloads in the world, so it is equally important for Microsoft to understand the storage performance of our servers. To do this, teams across Microsoft use Diskspd, our in-house developed and publicly available storage measurement tool. We continually improve Diskspd’s measurement capability so both you and our internal Microsoft teams can be confident and informed as you’re running your Windows Server workloads.
In this article, we’ll discuss two significant improvements (known as Batched Completions and Look-a-sides) in Diskspd measurement and what you need to know as a result. But before we begin, let’s put your mind at ease. Nothing is getting worse!
To that end, you may be wondering about the genesis of these improvements. Diskspd is being updated to handle modern workloads and hardware like NVMe. Our storage stack in Windows Server 2025 was also updated to leverage advances in NVMe storage (you can hear more about the storage performance improvements in Windows Server 2025 here and here)! During our testing of these capabilities, we improved our methods of latency measurement and found that we were now hitting the disk device limits when using Windows Server 2025!
The changes outlined in this article are available in Diskspd 2.2 and later. Download now!
New: Batched Completions
First, some background. When Diskspd starts, you specify the -o parameter which indicates the number of outstanding I/O requests to keep “in-flight.” If you specify -o 1 for example, Diskspd would issue one I/O, wait for its completion, then reissue another I/O. The higher the number of outstanding I/O’s, the more taxing in terms of performance requirements on the physical hardware.
Let’s use an analogy to understand how Diskspd measurement accuracy is improved with batched completions.
It’s that time of the day again – time to check the mailbox. You walk to the mailbox and find that there are 16 letters ready for you to pick up before you return to your home. Unless you’re counting steps for fitness-tracking, you’ll grab all the mail in the mailbox at one time before returning. How inefficient would it be to retrieve only one piece of mail from the mailbox, return to your home, read it, then go and get the next piece of mail from the mailbox again?! But that’s how Diskspd historically worked without batched completions.
Previously Diskspd would issue the requested number of I/Os (T0), then receive and record one I/O at a time (T1), then reissue that I/O (T2) before receiving and recording the other completed I/O (T3) even though it completed at the same time. This is the equivalent of taking one letter out of the mailbox, walking back to the house, reading and writing a response to the letter, then walking back to the mailbox, and picking up the next letter <repeat until all letters (I/Os) are read from the mailbox>. Historically, this wasn’t a big problem because disks simply weren’t fast enough for this issue to be observed anyway.
The processing of completed I/Os one at a time caused Diskspd to report higher storage latency than you could actually achieve on your system. Simply put, as disks have become faster, Diskspd needed a new way to track, record, and reissue completed I/Os.
Diskspd with Batched Completions
Now, with batched completions, Diskspd will receive all completed I/Os (letters in the mailbox) and record them as soon as they complete (T1). This reflects the actual time that I/Os completed and prevents Diskspd from inflating the storage latency.
To continue the mailbox example, now we walk to the mailbox once, pick up all the mail and return back inside the house. We still respond to the mail (reissue I/Os) one at a time.
New: Look-a-sides
Now let’s imagine you’re moving into a new home and have several new household items being delivered to the house. To simplify your move-in-day, you order some pizza for dinner as well.
The doorbell rings so you open your door and see the delivery truck with household items and the pizza delivery in front of your house. You take the box with all the household items, ignoring the pizza which is now sitting on your front porch getting cold, and begin to unbox everything in it. Once the box has been unpacked, you reopen your front door and pick up the pizza. For those of you that really enjoy cold pizza, this analogy might not seem like a big problem!
Diskspd recently implemented functionality called “look-a-sides” intended to address a scenario similar to the analogy above.
To understand the challenge, imagine there are 16 I/Os issued (T0) and 2 of those I/Os complete shortly after. Next, Diskspd receives I/O 1 and 2 (T1 using batched completions). While Diskspd is receiving the first set of completed I/Os, more I/Os (3 and 4) complete.
But Diskspd doesn’t record I/Os 3 and 4 as having completed yet. Instead, it continues its goal of reissuing I/Os 1 and 2. This delay in receiving and recording completed I/Os inflates the latency time measured by Diskspd unnecessarily. The more I/Os kept in-flight (the larger value for -o parameter) the more prominent this issue will become.
Diskspd with Look-a-sides
Now, with look-a-sides, Diskspd will receive I/Os 1 and 2 (T1) and begin to reissue IO 1 (T2). At the earliest possible opportunity, Diskspd will look at the completion queue to see if there are more I/Os that it can receive, and record as completed (T3).
Note: If there are no I/Os to receive, Diskspd simply moves on. In either event Diskspd continues reissuing any I/Os it has received (T4).
Recommendation #1: Re-baseline your storage performance
Since these changes can be so dramatic, you should re-baseline your storage performance using the latest version of Diskspd. Here are comparisons we ran using some representative hardware.
The numbers reinforce two things. First, the latency reduction is fairly dramatic regardless of the drive you use. The example on the right includes enterprise grade hardware. Next, you can see that the more IO’s Diskspd is told to keep in flight (Queue Depth) the more dramatic the measurement improvement.
Recommendation #2: Test IOPS and Latency Separately
There is a chance that when Diskspd performs a look-a-side it will find no additional competed I/Os. This is sort of a “Schrödinger’s cat” situation because Diskspd cannot know there are no I/O’s waiting without looking in the completion queue (look-a-side) which uses a small amount of CPU resources.
Each time Diskspd performs a latency test the extra CPU used to perform the look-a-side effects the overall amount of I/O that can be pushed and lowers the reported amount of IOPS on the system. In a simple test using single thread, random 4K reads on a consumer disk, we found that IOPS reduced nearly 6% (59.5K IOPS to 56.1K IOPS) when testing latency with look-a-sides.
So, you might be asking yourself, “can I turn look-a-sides off if I just want to test IOPS?” The good news is that look-a-sides are only enabled once you specify the latency parameter (-L) with Diskspd. Therefore we recommend you perform two separate performance tests: one for IOPS (without -L) and one for latency (with -L). When using -L, your IOPS measurements will be a bit lower than the maximum achievable on the system.
Here are some example Diskspd commands for Latency and IOPS testing:
IOPS Testing
Diskspd.exe -t8 -o8 -b4k -r -w0 -Suw
Note: This is only an example. You may need to try various values for -o to find the maximum.
Latency Testing
Diskspd.exe -t1 -o1 -b4k -r -w0 -Suw -L
Note: With the fixes here, you could also try small increases like -o2 or -o4
Summary
To keep pace with the advances in disk speeds and the improvements in Windows Server 2025, we’ve made investments in our storage performance benchmark tool to get you an accurate measure of latency. These improvements were so drastic that we recommend that you run separate performance tests for latency and IOPS and re-baseline the server performance in your environment. Remember to download the latest version of Diskspd along with Windows Server 2025 evaluation.
As always, we’d love to hear your feedback below as we continue to improve these tools.
Dan “Latency Reducer” Cuomo
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
Simple Cybersecurity Steps Every Nonprofit Can Take Using Microsoft 365
As a nonprofit organization, it is common to think you are less likely to be targeted by cyber-attacks compared to larger, profit-driven enterprises. However, this misconception can leave you particularly vulnerable. Your organization frequently handles sensitive data, including donor information, financial records, and personal details of beneficiaries, making you an attractive target for cybercriminals. Additionally, you may operate with limited IT resources and cybersecurity knowledge, further increasing your risk.
Adversaries do not discriminate based on an organization’s size or purpose. In fact, your perceived weaker security measures can make you more appealing to attackers. Whether it’s a data breach, a phishing scam, or a ransomware attack, the consequences can be devastating, leading to loss of donor trust, financial damage, and a tarnished reputation.
Thus, implementing robust cybersecurity measures is not just a technical necessity but a critical component of your operational integrity. Protecting your digital assets ensures that you can continue your important work without interruption and maintains the trust and confidence of those who support and rely on your services.
Your granted Microsoft 365 Business Premium licenses offer a suite of cybersecurity tools that can help protect your organization from cyber threats, even if you’re not tech-savvy. This blog post will guide you through simple steps every nonprofit can implement to enhance their cybersecurity using Microsoft 365.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
One of the easiest and most effective ways to secure your accounts is by enabling Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to their accounts, which can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Here is detailed Microsoft documentation on how to Set up multifactor authentication for users – Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn.
Use Secure Passwords
While it may seem basic, using strong, unique passwords is crucial for cybersecurity. Encourage your team to create passwords that include a mix of upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters. Microsoft 365 can enforce password policies that require users to meet these criteria. To set up a password policy:
Navigate to the Microsoft 365 admin center.
Click on Settings > Security & privacy.
Select Password policy and adjust the settings to ensure strong passwords are used across your organization.
Here is detailed information on Password policy recommendations – Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn.
Regularly Update Software
Keeping your software up to date is a simple but powerful defense against cyber threats. Updates often include patches for security vulnerabilities that, if left unaddressed, could be exploited by hackers. Microsoft 365 makes it easy to keep your software up to date:
An Admin can ensure that automatic updates are turned on in the Microsoft 365 admin center Configure update settings for Microsoft 365 Apps – Deploy Office | Microsoft Learn OR
Regularly check for updates in each Microsoft 365 application by going to File >
Account > Update Options > Update Now.
Educate Your Team
Awareness and education are your best defenses against cyber threats. Conduct regular training sessions to keep your team informed about the latest cybersecurity practices and threats. Utilize resources like Microsoft 365’s Learning Pathways, the Security Skilling Hub, or Microsoft Security Virtual Training Days here Secure and Protect Nonprofit Data | Microsoft Nonprofits
Utilize Microsoft 365’s Built-in Security Features
Microsoft 365 comes with a variety of built-in security features that can help protect your data. Some key features include:
Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection: Protects your emails against new, sophisticated attacks in real time.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): Helps prevent sensitive information from accidentally being shared outside your organization.
Azure Information Protection: Allows you to classify and protect documents and emails by applying labels.
Additional Resources
What is Microsoft 365 Business Premium – Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn
Microsoft 365 Business Premium – productivity and cybersecurity for small business
By taking these simple steps, nonprofits can significantly enhance their cybersecurity posture with Microsoft 365. Remember, the goal is to make it as difficult as possible for potential cyber threats to penetrate your organization’s defenses. With these practices in place, you can help secure your nonprofit’s data and resources, ensuring that you continue to operate effectively and safely.
Microsoft Tech Community – Latest Blogs –Read More
SQL Server audit
Hi,
Is it possible to query the users who performed queries on a given SQL Server table, in the event that no audit log is set, please?
Hi,Is it possible to query the users who performed queries on a given SQL Server table, in the event that no audit log is set, please? Read More
Getting my Azure bot on Bot Framework
I am getting the following error when trying to test my bot in “Test in Web Chat”:
2024-06-13 19:11:30.809 +00:00 [Error] Microsoft.AspNetCore.Server.IIS.Core.IISHttpServer: Connection ID “xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”, Request ID “xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”: An unhandled exception was thrown by the application.System.AggregateException: Failed to acquire token for client credentials. (AADSTS700016: Application with identifier ‘xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx’ was not found in the directory ‘Bot Framework’. This can happen if the application has not been installed by the administrator of the tenant or consented to by any user in the tenant. You may have sent your authentication request to the wrong tenant.
It seems as though the issue is that my bot isn’t registered in Bot Framework. When I go to https://dev.botframework.com/bots there are no bots listed. I have double checked all my appsettings.json values and they are all correct. Note this is for a single tenant app. Any help would be appreciated.
I am getting the following error when trying to test my bot in “Test in Web Chat”: 2024-06-13 19:11:30.809 +00:00 [Error] Microsoft.AspNetCore.Server.IIS.Core.IISHttpServer: Connection ID “xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”, Request ID “xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”: An unhandled exception was thrown by the application.System.AggregateException: Failed to acquire token for client credentials. (AADSTS700016: Application with identifier ‘xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx’ was not found in the directory ‘Bot Framework’. This can happen if the application has not been installed by the administrator of the tenant or consented to by any user in the tenant. You may have sent your authentication request to the wrong tenant. It seems as though the issue is that my bot isn’t registered in Bot Framework. When I go to https://dev.botframework.com/bots there are no bots listed. I have double checked all my appsettings.json values and they are all correct. Note this is for a single tenant app. Any help would be appreciated. Read More
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