Today we are announcing the Certificate Enrollment for Chrome OS extension, providing an out-of-the-box certificate enrollment experience for Chromebooks in enterprises with a deployment of Microsoft Public Key Infrastructure based off of Active Directory.This new extension allows users to easily request a certificate for their managed Chromebooks to access enterprise-protected networks and resources. It also allows admins to scale their Chromebook rollouts by automating the Active Directory certificate enrollment process via Google's Admin console.
Check out the Help Center for minimum requirements and deployment guidelines.
Launch Details Release track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release
Rollout pace: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)
Impact: All end users Action: Change management suggested/FYI
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Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise notedLaunch release calendarLaunch detail categoriesGet these product update alerts by emailSubscribe to the RSS feed of these updates
Last week, we announced that a recent change has been made to our security policy, whereby OAuth2 tokens issued for access to certain products will now be revoked when a user's password is changed.
We’ve received questions from Apps customers on the implications of this policy change for which we’d like to provide thoughtful responses in advance of the full rollout. As a result, and given the approaching holiday season, we have decided to delay the full rollout of this policy change until early 2016.
Please monitor the launch release calendar for the new launch date* and stay tuned for additional communication and answers to frequently asked questions.
*Note: this launch was cancelled for Google Apps customers in Feb 2016. A revised launch was announced on Sept 21, 2016.
Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise notedLaunch release calendarLaunch detail categoriesGet these product update alerts by emailSubscribe to the RSS feed of these updates
When you store important files in Google Drive they’re not only safe, they’re accessible from any device. Finding these files again from any device should be super easy, so we’re rolling out a new search experience to get you better results — even faster.
Drive lets you search across all your files, regardless of the device they came from. To make that easier, you can use these new ways to find your files:- Narrow your search to a file type from the search box on Android, iOS, and the web.
- Open advanced search instantly from the search box.
- Access recent files or search Drive from the home screen using 3D Touch on iOS.
- Search Drive using the iOS search bar without opening the Drive app.
Several behind-the-scenes improvements give your search queries even better results than they did before. And to get more specific results, anyone can now do the following:- Search for shared files by file owner using their name or email address.
- Use advanced search options like the date a file was modified, words it contains, or who it was shared with.
This is all part of an ongoing effort to make Drive the easiest place to find your files. See below for the specific rollout details.
Launch DetailsRelease track: - Android and iOS features launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release- Web changes launching to Rapid release, with Scheduled release coming in early January (monitor the launch calendar for specific date)
Rollout pace: Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)
Impact: All end users Action: Change management suggested/FYI
Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise notedLaunch release calendarLaunch detail categoriesGet these product update alerts by emailSubscribe to the RSS feed of these updates
Every company has data that it must keep secure — whether that data is about confidential innovations, strategic plans, or sensitive HR issues. Keeping all of this data safe from inadvertent or purposeful leaks needs to be simple, quick, and reliable. Google for Work already helps admins manage information security with tools such as encryption, sharing controls, mobile device management, and two-factor authentication. However, sometimes user actions compromise the best of all of these controls; for example, a user might hit “Reply all” when meaning to send a private message with sensitive content.
Starting today, if you’re a Google Apps Unlimited customer, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) for Gmail will add another layer of protection to prevent sensitive information from being revealed to those who shouldn’t have it.
How Gmail DLP worksOrganizations may have a policy that the Sales department should not share customer credit cards externally. To keep this information safe, admins can now easily set up a DLP policy by selecting “Credit Card Numbers” from a library of predefined content detectors. Gmail DLP will automatically check all outgoing emails from the Sales department and take action based on what the admin has specified: either quarantine the email for review, tell users to modify the information, or block the email from being sent and notify the sender.
These checks don’t just apply to email text, but also to content inside common attachment types―such as documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. Admins can also create custom rules with keywords and regular expressions. So if there’s a confidential new product your company is building codenamed Lochness, admins can create custom checks for lochness, confidential, and other keywords to help deter any leaks. Check out the DLP whitepaper for more information, including the full list of predefined content creators, and get started. Gmail DLP is the first step in a long term investment to bring rule-based security across Google Apps. We’re working on bringing DLP to Google Drive early next year, along with other rule-based security systems.
Note: this feature is available for Google Apps for Work Unlimited customers only.
Launch DetailsRelease track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release
Rollout pace: Gradual rollout (potentially longer than 3 days for feature visibility)
Impact: Admins only Action: Admin action suggested/FYI
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Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise notedLaunch release calendarLaunch detail categoriesGet these product update alerts by emailSubscribe to the RSS feed of these updates
Calendars are great for keeping track of what's next and to-dos are great for keeping track of what needs to get done. But we often manage them separately, so it's hard to see everything that’s going on and prioritize what's important.
Starting today, people using the Google Calendar Android and iOS apps can now create Reminders to keep track of their to-dos alongside their events. Here’s how it works:
Reminders help with the detailsReminders can be created the same way as an eventㅡby tapping the red Create icon (“+”) in the bottom right corner of the screen. Calendar can then add things like phone numbers and addresses automaticallyㅡusing information from your contacts, as well as Google's knowledge graph, to provide a bit of extra help.Reminders stick aroundWhile events come and go, Reminders stick with you over time so you can track them until they are actually done. If a Reminder isn't completed, it will appear at the top of your Calendar the next day. And all it takes is a quick swipe when you're done.Reminders work across GoogleIn addition to Calendar, you can add and view Reminders from a variety of Google apps: Inbox by Gmail (for any Apps customers in the early adopter program), Google Keep and Google Now. This makes it easy to add a Reminder to your Calendar when you're checking your email or only have time to create a quick note.People can start creating Reminders today with the latest versions of Calendar on Google Play and the App Store. And don't worry, we're working on bringing Reminders to the web too.
Check out the Help Center for more information.
Launch DetailsRelease track: Launching to both Rapid release and Scheduled release
Rollout pace: Full rollout (1-3 days for feature visibility)
Impact: All end users Action: Change management suggested/FYI
More Information
Help Center
Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise notedLaunch release calendarLaunch detail categoriesGet these product update alerts by emailSubscribe to the RSS feed of these updates
Chromebox for meetings brings high-quality video conferencing to any room. To help Google Apps customers who use Chromebox for meetings devices stay on top of new feature releases and improvements, starting today we’ll provide a regular recap of recent and upcoming launches. Today’s update coincides with the release of Chrome OS 47 stable, and we will continue to post updates moving forward following the Chrome OS six week release cycle.
Guest AccessGoogle Hangouts now supports meeting participants who do not have Google accounts.
Various Performance Optimizations- Improved WebRTC to reduce audio echoing and optimize performance on Hangouts.
- Faster HD resolution, smoother video rendering, and OPUS codec for improved audio quality on CfM.
- Screenshare improvements for faster updates for complex on-screen changes.
Admin Email NotificationsWe recently launched the ability for domain administrators to be notified when a Chromebox for meetings device goes offline, either by email or SMS. There is a known issue on being notified after scheduled reboots, and we are actively working on resolving it.
On-screen Volume ControlIn addition to using the buttons on the speaker/mic, it is now possible to adjust the volume using on-screen controls that have been added to the user interface of Chromebox for meetings.
Launch Details Release track: All features launched to both Rapid release and Scheduled release; Performance optimization improvements require an upgrade to Chrome 47. Chrome 47 will roll out automatically over the next week for customers who have auto updates turned on. Impact: All end users, plus the admin-only email notification feature Action: Admin action suggested/FYI
More Information
Help Center
Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise notedLaunch release calendarLaunch detail categoriesGet these product update alerts by emailSubscribe to the RSS feed of these updates
In an effort to further increase account security for Google Apps users, a recent change has been made to our security policy, whereby OAuth2 tokens issued for access to certain products will now be revoked when a user's password is changed. For example, if a user loses their device, and changes their Google password, their mail and other data will stop syncing to that device when the password is reset.
Token revocation itself is not a new feature, as users have always had the ability to revoke access to applications in Security Checkup, and admins have always had this ability in the Google Apps Admin console. This change in our security policy will simply automate the token revocation process.
What products are impacted?Some applications that use the OAuth2 authentication method will stop accessing data upon password reset until a new OAuth2 token has been granted by the user by re-authenticating with their Google account username and password. This includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Apps Sync for Microsoft Outlook (GASMO), and applications that use certain Google APIs.
For a list of impacted data endpoints and scopes, and any known products that may not sync properly following the policy change, please check out the Help Center.
In the future, we plan to expand the list of Google products and scopes for which tokens will be revoked upon password change, and will provide more details as they become available.
How will this impact Google Apps users?If you have a corporate policy that requires your end users to change their passwords periodically, we recommend letting them know that they will also have to re-authenticate on their mobile devices, or any applications that they may be using to access Google Apps.
All password changes, such as an end user changing a password, or an admin changing the password on behalf of the end user―or even using tools such as Google Apps Password Sync or other Directory API client applications―will result in OAuth2 tokens being revoked.
Launch Details *Note: this launch was cancelled for Google Apps customers in Feb 2016. A revised launch was announced on Sept 21, 2016.
Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise notedLaunch release calendarLaunch detail categoriesGet these product update alerts by emailSubscribe to the RSS feed of these updates
This new extension allows users to easily request a certificate for their managed Chromebooks to access enterprise-protected networks and resources. It also allows admins to scale their Chromebook rollouts by automating the Active Directory certificate enrollment process via Google's Admin console.