Microsoft Endpoint Manager

Controlling devices connected to Windows devices

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This week is all about device control. Device control is often referred to as a feature of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and is focused on preventing data leakage. That is achieved by limiting the devices that can be connected to a Windows device. The idea is also pretty straight forward: control which devices can connect to a Windows device. That can be achieved by looking at the hardware device installation, at the removable storage and at the bluetooth connections. Besides that it’s even possible to get creative with printers. Most of these settings – with exception of the printer settings – are configurable via the endpoint security options, but most settings are actually configured via different CSPs on the Windows device. This post will walk …

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Getting new users quickly up-and-running with Temporary Access Pass

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This week is a little follow-up on a post of a couple of months ago and about connecting pieces of the puzzle. That post was around Temporary Access Pass (TAP). Even though that post was focused on Windows devices, it did provide some hints for using TAP on mobile devices (Android, iOS) also. An often seen and heard challenge is related to getting new user up-and-running. Especially when requiring Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for device enrollment, or when trying to work completely passwordless. Those scenarios introduce chicken-and-egg situations as a device must be registered for usage with MFA and the registration requires MFA, or when trying to work passwordless and an authentication method must be registered to be able to work passwordless. So, to get a …

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Getting started with Test Base for Microsoft 365

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This week is about something relatively new, but especially something rather unknown. And that is Test Base for Microsoft 365 (Test Base). Test Base is a validation service based in a secure Azure environment, that enables Software Vendors (SVs) and System Integrators (SIs) to validate their applications against pre-released Windows security and feature updates. The best part is that it also enables customers and partners to do the same. That enables organizations to automatically test their critical business app with the upcoming Windows security and feature updates. A sort of automated testing. That helps organizations to be even better prepared for the upcoming Windows security and feature updates. This post is to create more awareness for Test Base and to make sure that organization are …

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Getting started with Continuous Access Evaluation

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This week is all around an Azure AD functionality that tightly integrates with Conditional Access (CA) and that provides a near real time experience with enforcing access to resources and applications. That functionality is Continuous Access Evaluation (CAE). CAE was introduced almost a year ago to Azure AD tenants with CA enabled and provides that near real time experience. That experience is created by enabling a communication between the different Microsoft services and Azure AD. That communication provides a lot of magic that results in the new real time experience. This post starts with a quick introduction in CAE, followed with the steps to enables this functionality (while in preview). This post ends with showing the near real time user experience. Important: At the moment …

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Android Enterprise and Microsoft Intune: A quick summary

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This week my post is a few days later, as my post is an extension of my session at the Workplace Ninja Virtual Summit 2021. At the virtual summit I did a session about Why you might want to use corporate-owned devices with Work Profile. During that session I shared a summary about Android Enterprise and I zoomed in on the capabilities of corporate-owned devices with Work Profile. This post will provide a summary of that session about the different important components of Android Enterprise and how that integrates and works with Microsoft Intune, followed with a zoom-in on corporate-owned devices with Work Profile. Most of that information will be summarized in tables and slides. The slides (PDF) of that session are available for download here. Android …

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Configuring Windows Hello for Business dynamic lock

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The last few weeks – before my vacation – were all around Windows Hello for Business. And especially around unlocking devices by using Windows Hello for Business functionalities. This week, however, is a little different. This week is around the automatic lock functionality of Windows Hello for Business. That functionality is Windows Hello for Business dynamic lock. Dynamic lock enables organizations to automatically lock devices when users step away from their device. That automatic lock can be achieved by using the bluetooth signal of a paired phone. The device will automatically lock when the signal of that paired phone falls below the configured minimum value. Of course, automatically locking the device doesn’t prevent users from forgetting to lock their device, but it does prevent the …

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Configuring Windows Hello for Business multi-factor unlock

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This week continues the journey through Windows Hello for Business. The last weeks were all about requiring the use of Windows Hello for Business, while this week is all about requiring the use of something extra with Windows Hello for Business. That something extra is a second unlock factor. By default, Windows requires the use of a single authentication factor to verify the identity of a user and to unlock the device. And even though the construction of Windows Hello for Business can be considered multi-factor authentication, as it combines something that you have (e.g. a device with a hardware TPM) with something that you know (e.g. a PIN) or with something that you are (e.g. a fingerprint), the unlock factor of the device with …

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Excluding the password credential provider

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This week is a follow up on the post of last week. In that post there was a reference to the option to completely exclude the password credential provider to force the user in to using Windows Hello for Business. This week is all about that option to exclude the password credential provider – and basically any other credential provider – from use during authentication. Credential providers are the primary mechanism for authenticating users in Windows and to verify their identity. Those credential providers are shown as different small tiles to the user as different options to authenticate in Windows. With Windows 10 and later, credential providers are also used for authenticating users in apps, websites, and more. By installation default, Windows already provides a …

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Requiring the use of Windows Hello for Business for interactive logons

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This week is all about Windows Hello for Business. Windows Hello for Business provides a really convenient and user-friendly method to authenticate in Windows, as it enables users to verify their identity by using a gesture (face, fingerprint or PIN). More importantly, however, Windows Hello for Business is also an important step in the transition to a passwordless environment, as it replaces the need for the traditional username-password authentication with a strong two-factor authentication on Windows devices. By default, Windows Hello for Business will be an additional method to get authenticated in Windows. When working towards a passwordless environment, it’s important to also take further actions for Windows devices, by preventing the use of the traditional username-password and by requiring the use of Windows Hello …

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