What is a gateway for remote desktop?

Many people are familiar with remote control solutions like LogMeIn, GoToMyPC, pcAnywhere, and so on. Microsoft has had its Remote Desktop (originally called Terminal Services) software for years, but using Microsoft's solution to connect from outside the office meant using a VPN, or opening holes in the firewall, both of which carried potential risks, and added complexity. When Remote Desktop Gateway was introduced with Windows Server 2008, it promised to simplify and secure the process.

Here are 5 reasons to consider Remote Desktop Gateway if your company is looking for remote-access solutions for your employees.

1. Connections are Secure. By using SSL Certificates (the same technology that secures your communication to online banking and ecommerce sites), and requiring only a single firewall opening, the remote connection is kept safe from eavesdropping and hacking attempts.
2. No VPN Required. Any device with an RD client can connect directly over the Internet without opening any unnecessary tunnels between your corporate network and an employee's home computer. This can save money on VPN solutions, keep things simpler for users, and limit your exposure to possible malware introduced by a non-secured home computer.
3. One Connection, Many Options. You may have a Remote Desktop Server that many people can log into concurrently, or you may allow employees to connect remotely to their PCs at their desks. In either case, the same connection to the Remote Desktop Gateway acts as a bridge to the company computer that the employee is connecting to. There's no need to worry about IP addresses, or DNS servers, or any of a number of other requirements that would be true of a VPN solution without RD Gateway. All that needs to be entered into the client connection is the name of the PC to connect to.
4. Remote Desktop Gateway is Part of Windows Server. If you have Windows Server, you have Remote Desktop Gateway, and may need only to add an SSL certificate to get things configured.
5. No Third-Party Sites. With many remote-access solutions, both the remote controlling device and the remotely controlled computer have to make a connection to a server operated by the remote-control service in order to make the connection. With RD Gateway, the connection is made directly to your company network with no intermediary required.

When it was first introduced, many of the RD Clients for non-Windows platforms didn't have support for Remote Desktop Gateway. However, that's no longer the case, as Microsoft has released clients for Mac, iOS, and Android in addition to Windows and Windows Phone, all of which support RD Gateway.

If you'd like to learn more about using this feature in your company's remote access solution, just ask us!

Page 2

By: Dan Bremner

Windows 10 is coming!

You may have seen some of the press, or even a "Windows 10 is coming" notification on your desktop along with an offer to "reserve your upgrade". By the way, if you're only half-paying attention don't worry, you didn't miss Windows 9. Microsoft decided to skip a version and go right from Windows 8 (and 8.1) to Windows 10.

Of course, as your IT company, we're working with the new release so we can give you inside scoop, and be ready to support you, our customers, when you're ready to move. All of our desktops internally are running Windows 10 Preview, and I'll have some information in the next newsletter on what's new and changed in Windows 10, and what to expect.

For this installment, I want to focus on a few things you should know about the rollout of Windows 10, because it's much different than previous Windows releases. If you're a Castema Managed IT customer, please be sure to read the recommendations at the bottom.

• It's Free. For all customers with Genuine installations of Windows 7, 8, or 8.1, you can upgrade for free, as long as your system meets the minimum specs. Apple started doing this a few releases ago, and Microsoft is following suit. This free upgrade is good for a year after the release date, so until July 29, 2016.
• It's coming through Windows Update. Previous versions of Windows have come via a CD/DVD, a separate download, or a Microsoft Store App. While those options may be available for Windows 10 also, the upgrade that was just announced is being delivered through the Windows Update mechanism. Make no mistake, though, this is still a new Operating System, and not an "update". The installation may take an hour or so, and may require installing drivers and setting up new system preferences after it's complete.
• Microsoft is taking "reservations". What does that mean? If you click the Windows notification (if you have one) in your taskbar and reserve your copy, your system will be examined to ensure it meets the specs, and then once the release date arrives, your computer will download the installation files for the new OS in the background. What happens after that isn't specified in detail, but presumably you will be prompted to install it.
• It's NOT Mandatory. Being techies at heart, we are generally in favor of new stuff, especially when it improves over the old stuff. But this is your business we're talking about, so we certainly advise a controlled rollout, and not an "every man for himself" approach to new technology. Which leads to…

Our Recommendation to our Customers

The number one recommendation is don't click on the update on July 29th and do this yourself without first coordinating with us. Having us involved can help steer clear of "gotchas" and make sure things run smoothly - exactly why you hired us in the first place. We'll be doing plenty of testing over the next weeks leading up to the launch, and we'll have some best practices defined for our Windows 10 rollouts. If you already clicked on "Reserve My Copy," don't worry, we've got you. Downloading files in the background won't do anything until you OK the prompt to install. Or you can cancel your reservation easily.

Some of you may prefer to hold off on Windows 10 until your next PC refresh, just as many have done in the past, and that's perfectly fine. Others may want to take advantage of the newest release, and the fact that it's being offered for free, and we'll work with you to roll it out smoothly, if that's you. In the meantime, you don't need to do anything, and we encourage you ignore the prompt about reserving your copy.

We expect Microsoft to release more details and tools soon for IT departments to help the companies they serve, to ensure consistency. In the meantime, as your IT department, rest assured that we're on top of the Windows 10 news, and as always, you can come to us with any questions about what's the best approach for your company.

Page 3

As business technology junkies, though, it's hard for us to get too excited about redesigned start menus. Yes, Windows 10 feels more at home than its predecessor in the traditional keyboard and mouse desktop world that most business users still reside in. Microsoft's attempt to bridge the desktop and tablet form factors feels less jarring than Windows 8 did, and that's a good thing. That's about all I'm going to say, however, about the cosmetic facelift you'll see in Windows 10.

Instead, I'll highlight a few things we biztech junkies are excited about - things that will end up having more impact on businesses. Some of these, we've been watching slowly develop and converge for the past several years. What Microsoft is doing, or rather has been doing for a few years, is laying a foundation intended to address needs that almost every business has when they look into cloud computing and how best to serve a decentralized workforce.

• Azure Active Directory Support. If your company has started using Office 365 for email, you're already using Azure Active Directory - it's the cloud version of the on-premises Active Directory service we've all been using for years to authenticate users and computers on corporate domains. Windows 10 support for AD in the cloud will help IT departments secure company computers that aren't connected to the company network. Remote workers "in the field" will be able to have authentication and security policies applied much like their counterparts in the office.
• Windows Hello. Log into Windows without a password, using facial recognition? It may feel gimmicky, and in this first incarnation, maybe it is, but eventually biometrics will become an important enhancement to the now-ubiquitous standard of password-based computer security. Windows 10 Hello is laying the groundwork for that next phase of security. Presumably it would be harder to hack someone's iris than it is to hack their password.
• BitLocker and EFS. While not new at all, these disk- and file-encryption technologies are being given renewed attention, and one or both of them will be enabled by default in Windows 10. This will help protect your files from unauthorized access by someone who may gain access to your PC, or if your notebook is lost or stolen. Turning these on by default should help prevent a lot of data security breaches that result from hackers finding data on lost, stolen, or discarded computers and hard drives.
• Information Rights Management. IRM is not new, and also technically not a feature of Windows 10, so why is it on this list? It's part of the bigger picture - the integrated solution that Microsoft is offering for businesses to share and collaborate across devices and locations, while still maintaining controls and standards, and protecting company information from loss or misuse. With the introduction of Azure Rights Management, a feature built into some tiers of Office 365 and available a la carte as well, coupled with the Azure Active Directory support now built into Windows 10, the Microsoft ecosystem becomes a compelling solution for the modern business.

In this ecosystem it's possible to set limits on who can use and open documents, how and when documents can be used, and to help with the problem of ex-employees taking company data with them when they leave the company. For example, a document might be set to only be able to open on a computer if it's authenticated to the company domain either through the cloud, or the company network. Or allow it to open only after the user authenticates, and if a user leaves the company, they lose the ability to authenticate, which renders the document useless. All of this helps companies make information accessible anywhere it's needed, on any platform, in any location, while protecting the valuable data each company has.

Should I go out and upgrade right now? I probably should have put this at the top of this article. After all, Windows 10 is being offered free, so what's the downside, right? We've been using the previews for a few months now, and we like it. That said, our current stance is that most businesses should wait, at least a little bit. The direct cost of an operating system isn't likely to be the largest factor in an upgrade decision. Despite the improved upgrade process and delivery through Windows Update, this is still an Operating System upgrade, and there will be some incompatibilities and some adjustment, like with any OS upgrade. For example, our management utilities are not fully compatible yet, though we expect an update to those soon.

Any across the board change like this should have some planning and preparation before implementation. There will be some adjustment to the new UI, and there may be some driver updates required after an upgrade. So our current guidance for businesses is this: Windows 10 is likely the eventual destination for most businesses. If you are buying a new PC, you should probably order it with Windows 10. If you're currently on Windows 7 or 8/8.1, you don't need to rush into anything. Give it a few months, let the inevitable bugs get patched, and drivers get updated, and work with us on an upgrade plan if you're anxious to upgrade. There's also no harm in waiting for the next PC refresh cycle to move to Windows 10, either. At home, where you're not relying on the PC as a tool to do your job, it's a different story. For those eager to try the latest and greatest from Microsoft, make a backup of your home PC (you are doing that anyway, aren't you?), and have at it! Requirements are similar to Windows 7/8/8.1, and it's a great way to get comfortable before your business is running Windows 10.

Thanks for reading. Please feel free to direct any of your Windows 10 questions to me, or to your support team.

.wp-post-image{display:none;}

Page 4

By: Dan Bremner

It's been a big week for software releases. First, Apple released the

Let's focus on Office 2016, which as you may guess from the appearance with Apple, is finally a true cross-platform simultaneous release for the first time ever. The same version is available on Windows PCs and Apple Macs, and there are mobile versions for Windows phone, Android, and Apple devices. You can start editing a document in Word on your PC at work, pick up where you left off in Word on your Android phone on the train home, and continue on your Mac when you get home.

If you've collaborated with others working at the same time on a document in Google Docs, or more recently in Word Online, you've seen the real-time co-authoring features that are now available in Word. If you save your document in OneDrive or SharePoint, you can share that document right from within the program, and other people can open it and type in it, while you see what they type in real time. The in-app sharing works in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, the Co-Authoring works in Word and PowerPoint, and the real-time typing works in Word only for now. OneNote has had notebook sharing and near-real-time syncing for a while now.

Recognizing that our documents keep getting bigger, and email isn't always the best way of sharing these files (especially if multiple people need to edit, and you want to avoid version nightmares), Outlook now has the ability to "Attach" files from OneDrive or SharePoint that don't attach the file, just a link to the shared file location. Even better, it will automatically adjust the permissions of those files so that the email recipients have read or read/write permission to the "attached" files, depending how you set it.

Speaking of collaboration, Microsoft's acquisition of Skype is making its way into Office too. While sharing a document, you can also initiate a Skype messaging session with the document collaborators from within your document window. Skype for Business has completely supplanted Lync as Microsoft's business messaging tool, and is making a big play to be a natural extension of your workflow with colleagues.

There are many more features to explore in Office 2016, including new chart types, new forecasting features in Excel, and integration with external web data, and lots more. To help find the feature you want to use, the Help system has been revamped with Tell Me. Start typing what you want to do, and Tell Me will get you to the feature you're looking for, or will find help on the feature.

The connected, work-anywhere-from-any-device promises that have been hinted at for years are now starting to become reality. It's an exciting time for businesses to take advantage of new opportunities for productivity. If you'd like us to help you get up to speed with Office 365, OneDrive, SharePoint, or the new Office 2016 suite, give us a shout. We're glad to help!

.wp-post-image{display:none;}