Microsoft 365 Copilot, used from Microsoft Microsoft has become an innovating tech giant again in 2023, first by unveiling a new Bing that is powered by AI and machine learning and continuing to put the new tech of Artificial Intelligence in their suite of...
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Office 365
Microsoft to enforce number matching in Authenticator app. Updated May 2023.
From the Microsoft Blog. Beginning May 8, 2023, Microsoft will start enforcing number matching for all users who have MFA enabled on their Microsoft 365 account. Number matching in authentication procedures refers to displaying a number on one device (typically a...
Changes coming to Microsoft in 2023 and beyond
Downloads to stop for Windows 10 Windows 10, originally released July 2015, is officially entering its twilight age. Microsoft plans to stop selling Windows 10 Home and Pro downloads after January 31, 2023. This will be applied to its product pages and stores....
Microsoft patches a zero-day vulnerability from October
In an update released December 2022, Microsoft patched a zero-day vulnerability that was exploited. A zero-day vulnerability refers to potential weak points in an update that could be exploited the day it is released. The fear is that someone could learn to exploit...
Windows Server 2012 ends its ten-year reign
Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 will soon be ending its ten years of service. Its End-of-Life date is October 10, 2023. Why does this matter now? If you use Windows Server for your business, upgrading to a newer version of Windows Server, like Windows...
Why “app registrations” present a security risk to M365
Let’s start by describing what an app registration is: An app registration happens when you allow an external program to integrate with your Microsoft 365 tenant. A common example might be allowing a scheduling tool like Calendly to access your companies’...
M365 price increase reminder
We’d like to take this opportunity to remind clients about the price increases to all Microsoft 365 packages on a monthly term and commitment effective July 1, 2022. We wrote about this in our February blog post, please refer to that article for further...
Audio conferencing now included in M365 packages that include Teams
We learned late last month that as part of the price increases to certain M365 packages, Microsoft added audio conferencing as part of the base package when Teams is also part of the package. Previously, this was a $4 add-on – so this helps offset some of the price...
How SpireTech is handling the Microsoft price increases
As previously advised in this newsletter, SpireTech has been tracking Microsoft’s upcoming price increases. There are two types of increases, and effective dates for these increases. The first price increase is effective March 1, 2022 affects six popular M365...
Important Microsoft 365 Update
Microsoft has notified partners that they are implementing a new commerce experience starting January 2022. They had also announced in August 2021 that a change with pricing to certain subscription packages was coming in 2022. SpireTech has been tracking these changes...