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Users with legacy Android devices can now access work apps in Google Play

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Recently, we announced that your organization’s private apps would move from the “Private Channel” (i.e. the “domain.com” tab) to the “Work Apps” tab in the Google Play Store. We envision this Work Apps section as a single destination where users can find all of the applications they need to be productive on mobile. Using Google Mobile Management, G Suite administrators can offer a curated set of both public and custom apps to their employees in the Work Apps section of Google Play.

Previously, however, employees with Android devices that did not support work profiles could not see the Work Apps tab and the apps their admins had curated. This included any users with Android devices running 5.0 Lollipop or less. With this launch, employees with these older devices can now access the Work Apps tab in Google Play (in their personal profile) and the apps their admins have curated.

Google Play for Work on Legacy Devices

Note that on devices that do support work profiles, the Work Apps tab can only be accessed from Google Play in the work profile.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Full rollout (1–3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
All end users

Action:
Change management suggested/FYI

 

Reference by Google.com

Resolve conflicting accounts with the new Transfer tool for unmanaged users

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If your organization recently made the jump to G Suite, you may have employees who previously set up personal Google Accounts using your company’s domain name. With this launch, we’re making it easier to identify and transfer those accounts before they become conflicting accounts.

Using the new Transfer tool for unmanaged users, you can view all personal Google Accounts with email addresses that match the G Suite email addresses for your organization. You can then send emails to those individuals, requesting that they convert their personal accounts to G Suite accounts. Later, you can view the statuses of those requests and cancel them as necessary.

Transfer tool 2

If an employee accepts your request to transfer their account, you’ll be granted access to their data and given the ability to manage that account. If they decline or ignore your request, they’ll be asked to rename their personal account with a different email address when you create a new G Suite account for them. They’ll retain sole access to and control over all of the data in their personal account.

Transfer tool email

Note that these actions must be performed manually. While you can send requests, cancel requests, and download request statuses for multiple users at once, you can’t yet do so in bulk via an API.

We hope this launch will make the transition to G Suite easier for you and your end users alike. For more information about the Transfer tool, please visit the Help Center.

Launch Details
Release track:
Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release

Editions:
Available to all G Suite editions

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

 

Better email security and compliance with attachment scanning and file type detection

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Email compliance settings allow Google Apps admins to set policies to regulate the delivery of both internal and external email for their organization. Today, we’re announcing two different policy improvements to further enhance email security:

Attachment scanning
The Content compliance setting enables admins to specify what action to perform for messages based on predefined sets of words, phrases, text patterns, or numerical patterns contained within their content. Similarly, the Objectionable content setting enables admins to specify what action to perform for messages containing specific word lists that they create

Previously, each of these policies supported the scanning of the body of email messages and text attachments only. With today’s launch, the policies will also scan the content inside common attachment types―such as documents, presentations, and spreadsheets from different productivity suites―for increased security.

File type detection
The Attachment compliance setting enables admins to specify actions to perform for messages with attachments based on file type, file name, and message size. Previously, the policy relied solely on the file type extension when identifying matches. With today’s launch, we’ll start scanning and identifying the actual file type of attachments, preventing the renaming of most file type extensions to circumvent attachment policies.

Check out the Help Center links below for more information on these security improvements.

Reference By: Google

Prevent individuals from changing their Google+ profile names

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Google introducing a new setting in the Google Apps Admin console that gives Apps admins control over whether or not people in their organizations can edit their profile names in Google+.

By default, people can change the profile name that’s displayed for their Google+ profile. The new display name is also used in all other Google products, except for user-edited Gmail usernames. Starting today, admins can decide to disallow name changes. If changes are disallowed, all Google+ profile names that were previously changed by individuals will be replaced by their corresponding names in the Admin console directory.

Comprompt-gplus

If admins decide to prevent users from changing their Google+ profile names, we recommend the following to minimize any confusion:

  • Inform people in your organization that their profile name might change—before you modify the setting.
  • Advise people to contact their Google Apps admin if they need to change their profile name after the setting is changed.

Visit the Help Center to learn more about managing Google+ profiles.

Reference-Google

Better email security and compliance with attachment scanning and file type detection

/in

Email compliance settings allow Google Apps admins to set policies to regulate the delivery of both internal and external email for their organization. Today, we’re announcing two different policy improvements to further enhance email security:

Attachment scanning
The Content compliance setting enables admins to specify what action to perform for messages based on predefined sets of words, phrases, text patterns, or numerical patterns contained within their content. Similarly, the Objectionable content setting enables admins to specify what action to perform for messages containing specific word lists that they create.

Previously, each of these policies supported the scanning of the body of email messages and text attachments only. With today’s launch, the policies will also scan the content inside common attachment types―such as documents, presentations, and spreadsheets from different productivity suites―for increased security

File type detection
The Attachment compliance setting enables admins to specify actions to perform for messages with attachments based on file type, file name, and message size. Previously, the policy relied solely on the file type extension when identifying matches. With today’s launch, we’ll start scanning and identifying the actual file type of attachments, preventing the renaming of most file type extensions to circumvent attachment policies.

Check out the Help Center links below for more information on these security improvements.

Reference By: Google

Disable downloading, printing, and copying of any Google Drive file

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With Information Rights Management (IRM), people using Google Drive can now disable downloading, printing, and copying from the advanced sharing menu―perfect for when the file you’re sharing contains sensitive information that you don’t want shared broadly or leaked. This new option is available for any file stored in Google Drive, including documents, spreadsheets, and presentations created with Google Docs.

To enable this feature, open the sharing dialogue from any Google document, spreadsheet, presentation, or other file in Drive on the web and click on Advanced in the lower right hand corner. Check the ‘Disable options to download, print, and copy for commenters and viewers’ box and click Save changes. This functionality is also available through API.Disable downloading, printing, and copying of any Google Drive file
Notes:

  • This feature can be enabled by file owners only, and on the web only
  • Once this feature is enabled, all entry points for downloading, printing, and copying will be removed from Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides on all platforms.

Google documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for which this feature has been enabled will show a notification at the top of the File and Edit menus

export disabled disabled downloading, printing, and copying of any Google Drive file

Reference By Google

A special offer and new controls for Security Key administrators

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Last year, Google worked with the FIDO Alliance standards organization to launch the Security Key — an actual physical key used to simplify 2-Step Verification with Google Accounts. The key adds a layer of protection as it sends an encrypted signature rather than a code, ensuring that login information cannot be phished.

Recently, we announced that we’ve been working on new controls for Google Apps admins to easily deploy, monitor and manage SecurityKeys for their domains via the Admin console, with no additional software to install. Today, we’re excited to announce that these controlsare ready and available in the Admin console for Google Apps Unlimited and Google Apps for Education customers. We also have worked on a new special offer for Google Apps for Work customers that allows them to purchase Security Keys at a 50% discounted rate from Yubico, Security Key manufacturer.

Once Security Keys have been activated by individuals within a domain, Google Apps admins will now be able to do the following with today’s release:

  • See where and when people last used their keys with usage tracking and reports (Admin console > Reports > Audit > Admin)
  • Easily revoke access to lost Security Keys and provide backup codes so people can still sign-in and get work done (Admin console > Users > Open details for person in question > Security Keys)

We are using Security Keys at Google because it makes our lives easier and increases security. With these new controls, Google Apps admins can offer the same benefits to people in their domain.

Check out the links below for more information.

Note: the new admin controls are available for Google Apps Unlimited and Google Apps for Education customers only. Customers using other Google Apps editions can use Security Keys, but people in their domain must revoke their own keys using My Account.

Release track:
Rapid release and Scheduled release

Reference by www.google.com

 

Accept or reject external guest requests to join Hangouts video calls with the Hangouts iOS app

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Google recently completed the cross-platform rollout of a feature allowing Google Apps customers to share links to Hangouts video calls so that external meeting guests may request to join if not explicitly invited.

Previously, video calls shared with the link required someone in the Apps domain of the Hangout video call to accept those requesting access on the web. With today’s launch, we’ve enabled this accept or reject functionality in the latest version of the Hangouts iOS app.

To accept or reject a request to join a video call on your mobile device, tap the ‘Accept’ or ‘Decline’ button in the pop-up screen that appears when a guest is requesting to join.

comprompt Accept or reject external guest requests

This functionality is coming soon to the Hangouts Android app.

Release track:
Rapid release and Scheduled release

reference by google.com

Google Slides now supports Chromecast and AirPlay

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Today’s update to the Google Slides app makes it even easier to share presentations on big screens. With just your phone or tablet and the Google Slides app, you can present easily to any screen with Chromecast or AirPlay.

Google Slides now supports Chromecast and AirPlay

When you’re presenting on the big screen, you can use your smaller screen to advance slides, view speaker notes and stay on track with a timer. This way you can focus more on telling your story and engaging your audience, instead of on logistics.

Reference by google.com

Changes to Drive folder and page URL structure

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To improve overall performance, we’re moving from using hash marks (#) to using the HTML5 History API in Google Drive. This means that moving forward, Google Drive folder and page URLs will no longer include hash marks (for example, https://drive.google.com/drive/#folders/ABC will become https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ABC and https://drive.google.com/drive/#starred will become https://drive.google.com/drive/starred).

Links to Drive folder and page URLs containing hash marks will continue to work indefinitely, but this change could impact any Google Apps admins or employees who parse Drive folder or page URLs specifically for the “#” symbol or who use Chrome extensions that employ the old-style URLs for Drive navigation.

This change is currently live for Rapid release domains; the rollout to Scheduled release domains is planned for June 9th.

Release track:
Live on Rapid release, with Scheduled release to follow on June 9th

Reference by google

 

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