A couple of weeks ago there was a good article published in the NZ Herald. You can read the complete article here: nzherald.co.nz/passwords. It was published shortly after it was exposed that Mark Zuckerburg (yes the Facebook one) had some accounts of his hacked.
Below is a summary of the 6 tips:
Choose a good password (your kids and/or pets names aren't good)!
Don't reuse passwords
New toothbrush? New password (change passwords regularly and DON'T share them)!
Make it harder (2 factor authentication)
Take out the trash (kill accounts you don't use anymore)
Social media cleanup (change your security settings so you're not totally public)!
Great tips for what is often the only defensive tactic against bad guys.
You probably know that we think that Chrome is the best browser to use. It is fast and offers some security features that help protect us from bad things that sometimes happen on the internet. It is also possible to extend how functional it is through extensions (we've talked about those recently). However there is one feature that we think is the greatest
The single greatest feature in Chrome is your ability to sign in with your @salvationarmy.org.nz account. That may not sound so fantastic to you, but it means that all of configuration and changes you make in Chrome will follow you to any machine you use (provided you sign into Chrome on that machine).
Your @salvationarmy.org.nz login means whatever bookmarks (favorites) you have will follow you between machines (old or new, yours or borrowed)! It also means that we can bookmark some sites you may find useful. See them in the screenshot below:
How do you signin? Easy ... just remember to use your @salvationarmy.org.nz account:
Sometimes it is easier to talk than to type. Don't you wish you could do this? Well, Google Docs lets you do that and it is incredibly accurate. How? Login to Google Apps with your @salvationarmy.org.nz account then select Google Docs.
Now click on Tools / Voice Typing.
You may be prompted to allow Google to use your microphone and you will have to agree to this (this only needs to happen once). Then you're ready to tap on the microphone, and dictate that document!
You probably already know you can talk to your phone. You may think this is a little bit of a gimmick, but it is a powerful feature that can the extremely helpful in certain situations. The place I use it most often is in the car. There is a cradle that holds my phone, and I tell my phone to send someone a message, or call someone. I even have been known to dictate emails.
Perhaps you don't know what you can do with your voice. So here is a link that gives you some great tips: howtogeek.com/use-your-voice
Last week we focussed on a couple of extensions that we've found really helpful. Today we're sharing 2 different links that focus on some really helpful extensions for Chrome. They're all worth looking at, and you may even decide to install some for yourself (I've got several installed).
Be warned, you may want to try some of these so we suggest not looking until you've got 10 minutes to spare and a fresh cup of coffee
We've had a bit of focus on apps and extensions this week, and today that continues. Sometimes I'll be reading something in an article and become discombobulated. So I need to copy (<CTRL>+<C>) the word, open another tab, and either go to dictionary.com or google.com then paste (<CTRL>+<V>) the word. Why isn't there a single button in my browser that does that?
Google Dictionary is an extension that does exactly that and it is brilliant. Check it out here and with a single click get the definition of those words you've never heard!
Have you ever been on a website that was helpful and wondered how you could quickly and easily find more sites like it? There is a Chrome extension for that! Called Google Similar Pages you can find it here and install it straight into Chrome.
We've talked about Google Keep in quite a lot of detail previously. It is a fantastic little app that can act like little post-it notes, or checklists, and do clever things like remind you to do something when you arrive at a specific location (that is my favorite feature, when I arrive at work my phone (thanks to Google Keep) pops up with a note or to-do list)!
Anyway, I stumbled on the following blog post which provides some great tips for using Google Keep. Things like putting labels on your notes so you can filter them easily. After all, if Google Keep were a notebook I kept in my pocket it would be big enough to demand a bag to carry it in now!
When you ring us (04 802 6262) you will be presented with 5 different options. While we're not fans of automated attendants, this lets us provide information to you more quickly and consistently. It also lets there be a single number when you're ringing Team iSG or DAST (we're closely linked).
The options are:
Password - Prompts for how to reset your password by yourself
SAMIS - Transfers your call to the DAST team
Mobile andinternet - This transfers your call directly to the Vodafone team
Log a ticket - Asks you to leave a voice message (name, centre, phone number, description of problem, and anything else relevant). This message will automatically be turned into a ticket
Talk to us - You will be transferred to the next available person. Keep in mind there are a maximum of 6 people on the phone at any one time, and we're taking calls from the entire Territory.
Please remember that once you have a ticket, you can add comments at anytime (we'll cover that in out next post)!
Today we thought we would talk about the ISG blog. Specifically the purpose of it, and also how we hope people will interact with it.
The purpose of the ISG blog is to:
advise of ICT changes happening around the Territory
educate people about current apps and digital processes
provide ideas for using new technology successfully
We hope that people will interact with it by:
selectively applying ideas to their work life (we don't expect everyone to act on every blog post - in fact often a blog post may only be applicable to Corps and not Addictions, or CM centres)
interact with the most helpful blogs by commenting or asking questions (this makes the question (and answer) available to everyone who reads it
Passwords are a problem, they're a critical part of securing information, protecting people's privacy, and digital identity but can be really problematic! The better a password the more difficult it can be to remember. So given the importance of them, we thought we would share a couple of ideas for passwords that may make it easier for you.
Remember that adding a capital, a space, numbers, and symbols make passwords a lot more secure. If you then make little rules for yourself it becomes easy too, (like you have 3 kids so the 3rd letter will always be a capital, I start every password with the digit 4, etc). Here are some ideas for making passwords memorable and secure:
Bible verses are really good! John 3:17 (yes verse 17 and not 16) is a complex password but easy to remember!
Childhood addresses work well. 9 Cavan Place is simple to remember but difficult to crack
Holiday destinations with a year remind you of good times. Surfers 2015 makes me smile when logging in
Cars (or motorbikes) and the year of manufacture are great too. Datson 180B SSS 1972 is incredibly secure and another good memory
Sports teams are also good - All Blacks 87 (or maybe 11 or 15 ) is a good password (and there are plenty of other great NZ teams who succeed to choose also)
There are lots of other ideas for passwords, what kind of tips do you use?
The last couple of weeks have been busy and nothing has been posted on the blog, sorry . So by way of reminding myself, I thought I would post a couple of the apps I use (on my phone) to stay on top of both work and personal commitments.
Calendar - If I don't put things in my calendar then I run out of time to do them or I forget where I'm supposed to be! In addition to inviting others to meetings I put things I need to get done into my calendar. This means people can't steal that time from me, and I will see what I set as a priority to complete at that time. Running my calendar lets me set my priorities and achieve what matters each day.
Alarms - This seems so simple, but using the alarms on my phone ensure I don't get caught up in something. One goes everyday for the team check in. Then I set different alarms so I can stop one thing and move onto the next. This is most helpful if I have to be somewhere (out of the office). An alarm reminds me that if I don't want to be late I better start moving now!
Google Keep - I use this to jot myself little notes or make check lists. What makes it so powerful is that I can set reminders on each note. The reminders can be a day and time OR a place! This is really helpful for little things I need to pickup or drop off. The reminder goes when I arrive in the office (or at home, or one of our centres)!
Silent Mode! - Every now and then there is something that I need to close my door and just get finished! I may have a Google Keep note about it, have set an alarm so I start it and have blocked time in my calendar BUT sometimes we still get interrupted by our phones. So I switch it to silent and place it face down so I can focus on the task that really matters and not be distracted by the noise.
All of these are freely available and easy to use, but make a huge difference for me. The most helpful aspect is that my phone is nearly always with me so I've always got my notes and reminders! What do you use to get done what you need to get done?
Now you're using Google Drive and are organising all your files in folders we thought it would be good for you to know you can share an entire folder. This means that whenever you put new files into the folder people will automatically be able to access them. No clicking on each file and sharing them one at a time!
Share a folder and suddenly everything that is in there now as well as anything you add tomorrow is accessible to the people you've shared it with. This is fantastic when you have a project you're working on with other people. Everything in the one place, accessible by everyone, and always up to date!
To share an entire folder single click on it in your Google Drive so it is highlighted, then click on the share icon (circled in red in this screenshot):
Now start typing the names of the people you want to share it with
Change the permissions if you only want them to have READ access (if not they can EDIT anything in the folder)
Add a message so when the people are notified they have some context to what they're receiving
Hopefully over the past week or 2 whenever you've needed to send a file to someone you've been using Google Drive. In addition to being easier it is also much safer. Chances are if you have been using it then you might have a collection of files in Google Drive now that you need to organise.
Folders in Google Drive work in the same way as in Windows Explorer. Click on New then select Folder:
Now name your folder, for this I've created a folder called Procedures:
Now you've got your folder you can simply drag & drop items onto the folder and they will move! In this next screenshot you can see the folder I just created as well as my files.
Double click on the folder name to go into it and see the contents (in this screenshot we've highlighted the path so you can readily identify the folder you're in):
We thought that this tip was good enough to interrupt our Google Drive series and repost it! We know that many people are aware of this, but we've had several people get stuck recently and when we let them know they can reset their own password they were pleased to learn how, but wished they'd known how late at night or over the weekend.
So you forgot your password? We all do it some time, in fact I'm disappointed if I return from holiday and remember my password (I think it shows that I didn't have a good enough holiday)! Whatever the reason, if you've forgotten your password outside of normal working hours you probably don't want to wait for us to get into the office. Even if it is working hours and Team iSG is available, it is still quicker and easier for you to reset it yourself (not to mention much more secure).
In order to reset your password yourself you need the following:
your mobile phone number must be registered in MyDetails
your mobile phone on you (and it be switched on as you're going to receive a text message)
a computer you can use with internet access (yes you can do this from your smartphone)
Assuming you have those 3 things then follow these steps to reset your password:
go to support.sarmy.net.nz (remember this works really well on a smartphone)
when looking at the login screen (screenshot below) click on the text I forgot my password ...
enter into all the fields with your information and click submit
assuming you entered the information correctly the screen will change and you will be prompted for the reset code
your phone will beep (unless it is on silent!) within a few seconds of you entering your details correctly and it will be a text message with a reset code. This is a one time only reset code that only lasts for a couple of minutes. Enter the code (it is case sensitive) into the green box and click confirm
assuming you entered the code correctly (remember it is case sensitive) you will be prompted to enter a new password
click the reset password once you've entered your password and (assuming you typed the same password twice) you will get good news
and you're done!
It is a simpler process than all those screen shots imply, believe us!
Yesterday we showed you how to access a file that has been shared with you (from Google Drive) from an email notification. It is possible that you won't receive an email when something is shared with you. Or perhaps you deleted the email because it was last week and dealt with it then BUT now you want to look again.
EASY! Go to Google Drive and login (we're going to assume you're all good with this now - if not look at this post Google Drive). Look at the navigation links down the lefthand side and click on the shared with me option (it is in red text in this screenshot below):
If nothing has been shared with you then expect to see the following screen:
Remember that just because something was shared with you, it doesn't mean you will still have access to it. It is as quick to share a document (or any other file) with someone as it is to STOP sharing it.
However you will most likely see a list of files and perhaps even folders (more on that in the next blog post) that have been shared with you. Here is an example of what you might see:
So yesterday we talked about sharing a file with someone through Google Drive. Today we're going to run through what you will see when someone shares a file with you (through Google Drive). You'll receive an email with a notification that looks similar to this:
All you now need to do is click on the big blue OPEN button and you'll be in and looking at the file. Well that is what will happen if you're already logged into Google Drive. If you're not then you wil be prompted to login.
If you're on a computer you usually use and have previously logged into Google Drive then it does a good job of remembering you so you only have to enter your password. The screen will look similar to this:
Otherwise you wil need to enter your email address @salvationarmy.org.nz (remember the @salvationarmy.org.nz bit is REALLY important). That login screen looks more like this:
There are other ways to access files that have been shared with you and we will run through those tomorrow.
Today we're going to talk about sharing a file from Google Drive. This of course assumes that you've got something in Google Drive that you want to share!
Why would you share using Google Drive? There are lots of reasons we think it is a good idea to share from Google Drive. However here are just three great reasons (there are lots more):
No attachments in email - so no file size limits to stop your file being delivered!
If you change the file you don't need to resend it - the people you share the file with will instantly have the updated version
You can revoke access at anytime - this means that the person won't be able to access the file again (try doing that with email).
So how do you share a file from Google Drive? Once you're logged into Google Drive select the file you want to share with someone. In the screenshot below you can see we've selected the file called Productivity-Guide-for-Google-Apps2831.doc by clicking on it:
We've circled the icon to start the process of sharing a file. Clicking on that (after you've selected the file to share) will prompt you as follows:
Start typing the name of the person you want to share with and it will suggest names to you. Click on the person you want or press <ENTER> to choose the one that is highlighted. Tip: You can add as many people as you want!
Yuu can also control how much access they have to the file you're sharing by selecting an option from the can edit dropdown:
These access permissions are more related to when you're using Google Apps, but they do impact how people interact with the other types of files you may be sharing.
Finally add a brief message so the recipient knows why you've shared a file with them and what you're expecting them to do with it!
And you're done! Tune in tomorrow to see what happens when someone shares a file with you...
Hopefully you managed to login to Google Drive following our post last week (Google Drive). Today we're going to step you through uploading a file to your Google Drive. It can be any type of file you like (Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation, PDF, etc). For the purposes of the blog today we are going to upload a Word Document. Today we're going to step you through uploading a file to your Google Drive. It can be any type of file you like (Word document, Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentation, PDF, etc). For the purposes of the blog today we are going to upload a Word Document.
Start by ensuring you've logged into Google Drive, assuming you have then you should see a screen similar to the following:
Start by clicking on the red NEW button, then select the File upload option:
You will then see a Windows Explorer (assuming you're running Windows) window that you should be familiar with. Find a file that you want to upload, select it (click on it), then click on Open and the upload will commence.
The file will start uploading and you will see a progress indicator in the bottom right corner of the webpage. It will be similar to this screenshot:
Now you have successfully uploaded a file to Google Drive! Now you can access it from almost any device wherever you are at the time! You can edit it (depending on what kind of file it is) and share it with people. Over the next couple of posts we will let you know how to do some of those things which are part of why Google Drive is a helpful tool for The Salvation Army moving forward.
Hopefully you've heard us talk about Google Drive. It is a really helpful tool that makes it possible to access your files wherever you are (work, home, out of town, the other side of the world). It also make it easier to share your files with the people you undertake mission with. No need for emailing attachments or printing!
Some of the feedback we've received is that people really like the idea of Google Drive but need a little bit of help to get started. So today we're going to help you all get started (well maybe over the next couple of days/blog entries)!
We're going to assume you want to start at your desk because that is probably where you currently access all of your normal files. Open up the browser you normally use (we think that Chrome is the best browser), and go to drive.google.com. You should see the following screen:
You will need to enter your email address and this MUST be @salvationarmy.org.nz (this is really important to being able to login). In the screenshot above you can see the format you should follow. When you click on NEXT you will be asked for your password.
The password you should use is your Citrix password. If you don't know what Citrix is then we would suggest you go to support.sarmy.net.nz, login, click on your name, then select change password:
You can then reset your password to be the same as it currently is (e.g. make your password the same as it currently is). This will force your existing password to sync with The Salvation Army instance of Google Apps.
Assuming you're successful you should see a screen similar to what is posted below. If you have any problems then we would suggest you log a ticket online at support.sarmy.net.nz so we can schedule time to help you. Tomorrow we'll go over a little more about Google Drive.
However it is really important that you logon using your @salvationarmy.org.nz account.
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