Hey, What is Microsoft Sway, and Is It Worth Using?

Patch Watch: Uncertainty in Patching

March’s updating appears to still be in limbo. No previews of February updates means a smaller expected update for Windows 7.

Microsoft still seems to be recovering from whatever caused them to skip releasing Office and Windows security updates on the second Tuesday of the month. Normally on the third week of the month they will release a preview of the following month’s non security updates. This time they only released the overdue Flash update that Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 machines need to be protected as Flash is embedded in that platform.

Remember that Flash for Windows 7 is an independent update that comes directly from Adobe. For Windows 8.1 and 10, Flash has to come from Microsoft’s updating mechanism for those platforms.

March will also mean changes to Microsoft’s communication regarding security bulletins, with all new Security Portal will be the new location for security guidance and information.

What to do: Look for more changes to updating to come.

For most of us, “Sha-1” is a term we’re not used to seeing. Yet it’s a foundational part of security and has been used for years when setting up secure transactions such as Secured Sockets Layer and SSL certificates. It’s an old crytographic hash function (as noted on Wikipedia, but therein lies the problem. Old technologies and security often don’t go together and they need to be updated to be secure in today’s modern attacks.

The same is true for SHA-1. It’s been under attack for many years, has been on the chopping block for years, but due to many web sites still running around with SSL certificates that are keyed with a Sha-1 certificate, we still haven’t phased out support of Sha-1 SSL certificates. Google has begun the process by warning you in your browser when you get to a site that has an older SSL certificate. Microsoft will do similarly soon as noted in the Edge blog and start warning you and blocking you from sites that have a public SSL certificate that has a chain of trust to a Microsoft root certificate.

For most of us, there’s nothing we can do other than to complain to our web site vendors who don’t update their SSL certificates. But if you are a small business owner with your own web site, or your own remote access site that protects itself with a SSL cert, there is an easy test you can do to test if you are ready for this phase out of Sha-1. Using the web site of SSLtest and put the web site url of the site you want to test. The website will come back with a passing grade or not, depending on your SSL certificate and other factors. If your SSL certificate still is using SHA-1 for it’s encryption, all you need to do to fix this is to go to the vendor you purchased your SSL certificate from and “rekey” it to support newer, more secure standards. You may need to purchase a new certificate if the certificate is old and near it’s expiration date.

If all of this is confusing to you, you may need to reach out to a small business consultant to help you fix up your SSL certificates, especially if you run Small Business Server 2003 or 2008. If you are running those older platforms it may be wise to review your technology needs and see what else might need updating at the same time.

What to do: Review your SSL certificates and ensure they don’t support SHA-1.

The non security updates for Office that were released in early February can now be installed. I noted no side effects with these updates. For the full list of nonsecurity Office updates, see the related Office blog post article

Office 2013

• 3161988 – Skype update for Lync 2013
• 3115489 – Office 2013 RMS update
• 3141491 – Office; fixes the use of resources.
• 3127966 – Office fixes for Excel and PowerPoint
• 3141494 – Onenote fixes for student notebooks.
• 3127972 – Fixes an issue where the Office marketplace doesn’t use SSL
• 3141495 – Outlook fixes for Icals with Apple devices.
• 3141461 – PowerPoint fixes.
• 3141499 – Project fixes.
• 3141492 – Visio fixes.

Office 2016

• 3141504 – Office; fixes interactions with third party plug ins.
• 3141501 – Skype
• 3114389 – Office RMS fixes
• 3141508 – Excel fixes
• 3127991 – Office ; fixes issues with third party plug ins
• 3141510 – Office fixes issues with Excel
• 3141513 – Office; fixes issues with Excel.
• 3141505 – Office; fixes issues with Excel.
• 3128048 – Office; fixes issues PowerPoint.
• 3141512 – Onenote fixes.
• 3128052 – Outlook; fixes an issue where the marketplace isn’t using SSL
• 3141511 – Office; fixes an issue where Outlook can crash.
• 3128051 – Office; fixes issues with PowerPoint.
• 3141514 – Project: fixes various issues.
• 3141509 – Office language packs.
• 3141500 – Visio: fixes various issues.

What to do:Wait to install these updates at this time.

This table provides the status of recent Windows and Microsoft application security updates. Patches listed below as safe to install will typically be removed from the table about a month after they appear. Status changes are highlighted in bold.

For Microsoft’s list of recently released patches, go to the MS Security TechCenter page.

Status recommendations: Skip — patch not needed; Hold — do not install until its problems are resolved; Wait — hold off temporarily while the patch is tested; Optional — not critical, use if wanted; Install — OK to apply.

Hey, What is Microsoft Sway, and Is It Worth Using?

Are you familiar with Microsoft Sway? If not, don’t panic. It’s one of those applications that isn’t exactly a household name. Part of Microsoft Office, Sway allows you to create interactive reports, presentations, and personal stories, in a fresher visual style than PowerPoint. Students, business professionals, and everyday folks can build a presentation using text, graphics, videos, charts, maps, tweets, and other media. The software is available as a downloadable Windows app and as a component of Microsoft’s Office Online suite.

So is the program worth trying? And should you bother using it when you’re already rocking PowerPoint? I used Sway to create an interactive presentation to try to answer those questions.

You can snag Sway one of a few ways: You can download it as an app from the Windows Store in Windows 10, or use the online version. Both offer the same features and functionality; there is no advantage to selecting one option over the other. The downloadable app, however, is available only for Windows 10, while the online edition is accessible in prior versions of Windows, including Windows 7 and 8.1.

You’re not limited to creating your Sway on a computer. You can cook a Sway up on an iPhone or iPad using the Sway mobile app available for iOS devices. Microsoft is also currently developing mobile app versions for Android and Windows Phone.

Nor are your Sway viewers limited to a specific software app or platform. You can view a Sway presentation via a Web browser on a computer or mobile device. No special software is required.

On the launch screen for Sway, you can peek at other Sway presentations to see what’s possible with the program. One presentation on how to use Sway helpfully explained how to create a Sway presentation with help from text, embedded images, videos, a slideshow, and interactive forms. Another Sway about the universe featured text with several stunning photographs and links to websites to learn more about the topic.

You can opt to create your Sway presentation from scratch, start one from a specific topic, kick one off from one of your own documents, or use one of the built-in templates to get a head start. The templates include various types of presentations, such as blog posts, newsletters, portfolios, student reports, and resumes. You can also choose from among one of three layouts: horizonal, vertical, or slideshow format.

I decided to work with the online edition. I opted to use a built-in template for a photo collage. And for my topic, I chose Pompeii, the city destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. I’ve been fascinated by this city and its discovery and resurrection ever since my wife and I visited it many years ago while honeymooning in Italy.

I began my Sway with a title and a background image. For the photos, I could use images created by other people and offered through the app. When incorporating such media, you do have be careful not to run afoul of copyright laws, especially if you’re designing a Sway for commercial purposes. In the program, Microsoft wisely includes links that explain how you can use the media available without bumping into copyright issues. For the photos, I could turn to Facebook, Twitter, Bing, YouTube, and other sources, including my own photo gallery documenting my trip to Pompeii.

At this point, I wanted to check out some of the settings and options for my presentation. Clicking on the Design menu gave me the ability to play with the color, fonts, and other elements. I chose a dark and somber style to reflect the tragedy of the destruction of Pompeii.

Next, I clicked on the Layout button to make sure my presentation was set up in a horizonal format. Then I clicked on the Settings for my Sway to give viewers the ability to control the presentation through text direction buttons. I also enabled an Autoplay option so my presentation could move along on its own after spending a certain amount of time displaying each section.

Next, I typed some introductory text spiced with another background image. Then I decided to focus on several of the photographs I had taken in Pompeii. I inserted one photo after another with a caption for each one. At this point, I found myself a bit lost. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do beyond adding more photographs, and didn’t quite know how to ask for help from Sway.

Through Sway, I did find a link to several Microsoft Sway tutorials on YouTube. After playing several of those, I felt more confident that I could finesse my presentation and convey my theme using more of the program’s built-in features. At this point I wanted to add some videos of Pompeii, so I chose three that were offered by the software. Adding the videos was a simple matter of dragging them from the source and dropping them into the appropriate spots in my presentation.

Next, I added more text about Pompeii and then I turned to inserting cards. Each card you add to your presentation can be of a particular type – an image, a video, a tweet, an audio, or a URL. You could also group your cards so they play as a slideshow, are stacked one on top of the other, or appear in a grid format. I added a few tweets, each with a photo of Pompeii. I then recorded and inserted an audio describing my feelings of seeing the excavated remains of Pompeii.

Then I wanted to add some maps of Pompeii. I selected the option to insert a map and then ran a search for “maps of Pompeii” using Bing without having to leave Sway. I forged on with my presentation, adding more photos, both from my own collection and from those available from a Bing search.

After I finished the presentation to my satisfaction, it was time to view it.

I clicked on the Play button to watch what I had created. And I liked it. The text, graphics, videos, audios, and other elements all teamed up to produce a visually interesting and informative presentation.

I believe that additional time and experience with the software would help me create something even more effective and powerful. But as a first attempt, my presentation turned out better than I thought it would.

My Sway was automatically saved to my Sway page. By clicking on the Share menu, I could share my presentation as a webpage with its own URL. I could send the link to people via email, post it on Facebook or Twitter, and embed the presentation itself within a webpage.

So is Sway worth using? Yes, I think so. It’s a cool and constructive tool in the hands of students, business people, web designers, and just about anyone who wants to convey a message or present a topic using multimedia. So for those of you curious about Sway, give it a shot. You may be pleasantly surprised and excited by what you’re able to create.