New Android Version of TouchDown is LIVE!

You asked for it, dear TouchDown users – a fresh UI has arrived in our flagship TouchDown for Android  (8.4.00082 ) Our new Basic Theme offers some refreshing colors, clean icons, and more approachable lay-out.  Don’t like color? A “Tame” theme is available for those of you you who just want plain old gray.  Love it? Hate it?  Leave us comments below – the more constructive the better!  Those of you on our beta list know we love feedback, and often incorporate it.  Next version will include update on “Tame” and older themes.

 

How S/MIME Encryption works, Part II

As promised, here is part two of our S/MIME encryption series (how to encrypt your email on TouchDown for Android) by our awesome support master, Dragonfly:

First off, I open the email with the certificate attached. Entering the attachment list, I download and long press it to bring up a menu, and choose ‘import certificate.’

Long press on the attached certificate.

Choose import certificate.

I enter the password.

Enter the password.

This menu pops up, make any changes you want, and hit Ok. Contact your IT team if you’re not sure if you need to choose any of these settings.

Now I have the certificate imported, and can send out signed or encrypted emails. As I want to send an encrypted email to welovenitrodesk, I’ll grab their public key in an email they sent to me.

The signed email from welovenitrodesk. I apparently can’t spell sign.

I click on the key icon in the top right, and am prompted to validate the certificate, which I do. Now I have their public key in my store.

Click Validate.

The certificate is valid.

Now I compose an email to them and click the menu button, and choose ‘options’.

The device I used for this doesn’t have a menu button, so Touchdown generates a soft one. Different devices will look different, but it usually isn’t too hard to find the menu key on the compose screen. (If you don’t see a soft menu button, and are on a device running Android 3.x or above, you want to be using Touchdown HD instead of Touchdown for Smartphones.). Optionally you can also press the Options button on the blue toolbar.

Choose to sign and encrypt it.

And just like that, I’ve sent welovenitrodesk a signed and encrypted message.

Meanwhile, in welovenitrodesk, the signed/encrypted message decrypts perfectly.

Hope this helps users get a better understanding on how to use S/MIME functionality with Touchdown for Android. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at support@nitrodesk.com for any iOS queries. Thanks for reading!

New Demo – TouchDown for Android Beta – Swiping

Hi all beloved Android Beta users, do we have a treat for you! (and non-beta users, you can play this too ! )

Great new swiping feature on the latest build of Android beta:

Here are a few screenshots – what do you think?

Mobile Spaces and NitroDesk collaborate to provide robust mobile security

Out on the wires…

SILVER SPRING, MD – September 19, 2013 – Leading mobile security companies MobileSpaces and NitroDesk announced today a technology partnership to provide enterprises with a much more robust mobile security solution.  By harnessing the power of iOS 7, the companies have integrated NitroDesk’s Touchdown application with the MobileSpaces workspace to remove the need and limitations of any proprietary SDK to secure mobile devices. In fact, IT admins can now fully automate the provisioning of corporate email with any other enterprise app by simply assigning NitroDesk’s Touchdown application, the leading Microsoft® Exchange ActiveSync® solution for securing corporate email on mobile devices, to any MobileSpaces workspace.

The release of iOS 7 simplifies how IT organizations secure and deploy apps on Apple devices, eliminating the need for proprietary app ecosystems that limit app choice. Now enterprises have a standard method for securing their apps in a native container, as well as a seamless way to configure those apps for work use, giving them the freedom to create custom business workflows.

By using Touchdown, IT now has the foundational app necessary to secure every employee while the MobileSpaces workspace will give them the flexibility to provide each employee with the additional apps they need for their job.

“Now users can utilize the most secure and feature packed Exchange ActiveSync client in the world while using the MDM features provided by Apple, Inc while requiring no additional hardware infrastructure. This is a huge win for cost-conscious IT departments” says Ron Goins, COO of NitroDesk Inc

MobileSpaces 2.0 combines Apple’s iOS7 app management capabilities with app virtualization technology for Android to create a trusted BYOD workspace that supports any mobile app on any device. Now enterprises have a uniform way to secure and configure mobile apps on iPhone, iPad and Android devices allowing enterprises to focus on choosing apps for business and not worry about devices.

“MobileSpaces is pleased to be working with NitroDesk and we are excited that it demonstrates the new norm in mobile app security and provisioning,” said David Goldschlag, former VP Mobile at McAfee and now MobileSpaces CEO and co-founder. “The plug and play way our solutions work together unlocks the full potential of the mobile app economy and gives enterprises the freedom to choose any mobile app for work.”

For more information on how MobileSpaces 2.0 secures and empowers the app-centric enterprise, please visit MobileSpaces.com.

More on TouchDown:

With TouchDown, NitroDesk brings a cost-effective solution to IT departments – a completely secure email and productivity client utilizing Exchange ActiveSync that allows users to BYOD no matter what the device is, from Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, to desktops.  TouchDown keeps enterprise and personal data separate, and includes features such as remote wipe of enterprise-only data, AES-256 Encryption for an added layer of security, and support for  Information Rights Management (IRM) and Data Loss Protection policies.

“TouchDown on iOS7 now features TouchDown Nudge; Nudge incorporates the iOS7’s new battery optimized Background fetch technology to keep corporate data updated on the device without manual intervention.” says Ron Goins, COO of NitroDesk Inc

About NitroDesk Inc. 

Founded in May 2008, NitroDesk Inc. is the developer of TouchDown, a popular application that lets users synchronize their Android, iOS and Windows 8 and Windows RT powered devices with corporate email, contacts and calendar on their Microsoft ® Exchange Servers. NitroDesk currently operates its head office in Bellevue, Washington.

About MobileSpaces
MobileSpaces helps enterprises mobilize their applications, govern their data, and respect the privacy of their employees.  MobileSpaces offers a BYOD policy-managed workspace for iOS and Android that protects mobile enterprise apps and data against loss and leakage.  Founded in 2011 (as CellSec) by experienced enterprise security executives and engineers from McAfee and Check Point Software, MobileSpaces is headquartered outside of Washington, DC, has offices near Tel-Aviv, Israel, and is backed by Accel Partners and Marker LLC.  Learn more at MobileSpaces.com.

What do we have here?

That appears to be a Sony Smartwatch 2…with TouchDown synced.  Oh, yes, yes it is.

Yes, its secure – and really geeky cool.  Live updates, on your wrist.  Oh, the choices!!

Support for the Sony Smartwatch TouchDown is live now – and support for the Galaxy Gear is in development, and will be live shortly after release.  We can not confirm or deny our work for the iWatch…….

The bad news about “single click” logins

We are all super busy, running from one place to the next, texting our spouse as we walk to the car and sending an email at the red traffic light (only at a red traffic light, correct?)  So yes, it is tempting to give in to all those supposed time savers like ‘one click’  log-ins.  But do they make your information vulnerable?  Craig Young from Tripwire thinks so.Young reports that the popular  ‘weblogin,’  which allows users to use their Google account credentials as authentication for third-party apps may seem secure because its not sharing the username and password itself; instead it creates a token to represent the your login details.  Google Apps are very popular across businesses of any almost any size due to their low cost, apparent security and ease of access.  However, the use of Google Apps on mobile devices (In this case, an Android device) was demonstrated to have some vulnerabilities by Young at this month DefCon21.

To demonstrate, Young created an Android app that asks for access to the user’s Google account to display stocks from Google Finance.  Once you grant the app permission, the app creates a token to access the data. This makes you feel safe and secure because its not passing on your actual username and password.  However, the evil app sends the issued token to the hacker who created it, who can then directly paste it into a web session, providing access to everyone of your Google Services.   No, not just the Google Finance App you gave permission to use, but Google Calendar, Google Docs, and even your Gmail.  Ooops.

It gets worse if you are an administrator for a Google Service – once the hacker can get into your information they can change your passwords and otherwise take control of every account which you administer, not to mention read private company data.  Which gets me to the more important point: Why is anyone who is remotely concerned about the safety of their email data not using a self-contained email service that doesn’t allow web-logins, single clicks and other vulnerability causing services?  If you are the owner, manager, or client/patient of a business, are you concerned about what security holes the business’ employees are causing when they ‘sign in with Facebook’ or “Google one click” on their Android device while watching their sons T-ball game?  We have to balance our thirst for ease of access with our need to not only keep our information private, but that of our clients and our work’s clients.  Mobile devices are what allow us the freedom to balance work and play, to multi-task, to keep every client and friend in constant contact.  But it is so easy to forget about workplace ethics (including security) wen we’re enjoying that Corona at the Park, checking email to keep up, but taking shortcuts to ‘make it easier.’

So stop using shortcuts, and most importantly, use self-contained data environments (especially for email) that don’t allow other applications on  your mobile device to interact with it.  If it’s too easy for you to access, its probably too easy for someone else to access too.

 

 

 

Dont you hate it when…

Don’t you hate it when you forget to turn off your Out Of Office (OOF) automatic reply?  And no on tells you that your email is sending out an automatic reply that states you will be back three weeks ago.  Somewhat silly in your personal email, and downright unprofessional appearing in your work email.  It is SUPER easy to change this and many other settings on TouchDown, even if you are away from your desk.  (which makes it possible to turn the OOF ON if your forgot to do so and you remember when you are at the airport!)

Lets use the Android Phone as an example.   Simply go to Settings, and then Advanced Settings.
Select Out of Office (OOF) reply

Make your choice

Diasble OOF turns off the automatic Out of Office Reply
Enable OOF sends out an automatic Out of Office Reply, which you can select be internal or external to your organization

Scheduled OOF allows you to specify exactly when the OOF starts and stops – I highly recommend this option if you are setting up your OOF since it requires no further action once you time away is complete.  If you need to add onto it because you are having way too much fun and need to stay away form the office longer, you can easily change this time frame.

 

So there you go!  No worries about leaving on a jet plane and suddenly realizing you are going to have to deal with tardy email responses, or even worse, remembering that you forgot to turn the OOF OFF (say that three time super fast!)

Did you know that we have a ton of how-to’s on all of the TouchDown functions in our Knowledge Database?

Solving Your Problems

TouchDown came about as a solution to a problem, that problem being; when Android phones first came to market there was no viable Exchange Sync client, native or otherwise.  But sometimes solutions have problems, that’s part of the price of progress.  So when you run into problems with TouchDown, you have a number of options to choose from, based on the type of issue you are facing or your preference for how to seek out a solution.

TouchDown E-Mail Technical Support – Support@NitroDesk.com  No matter what version of TouchDown you are using or what device/OS you have it installed on, our crack squad of US-Based support engineers will get you squared away, often the same day.

TouchDown Knowledge Base – If you prefer to sniff out the answer to your questions by yourself, then this is the place to do it.  If you don’t find the answer you are looking for, then you can submit a request from this site which is then handled by our support engineers.

TouchDown Google Group – Sometimes it’s nice to see that your problem isn’t so bad when compared to how others may be suffering, so why not cruise the Google Group to see how good you have it.  Crowd sourcing is an excellent way to find solutions to your problems, or lend a hand to a fellow user who is having the same issue you may have found a solution for.  Our CEO/Developer and I also like to keep an eye on things here to make sure as many people as possible get the help they need.  This is a great place to give feedback too, so come on by and let us know what you think.  Don’t forget to subscribe to the group so you can keep up to speed.

IdeaScale – Want to see a new feature added to TouchDown?  This is the place to let us know what you want to see in upcoming versions of TouchDown and if we can conceivably do it within the constraints of the OS, we will.  In fact, this is the core of our Mission Statement: “Our customers and their aspirations and needs are at the center of everything we do. We know we wouldn’t exist without them and their support and loyalty. The least we can do is build what they need and not what we think is cool.”

NitroDesk YouTube Channel – We host all of our video tutorials, demos and overviews on our YouTube page, so have a look around and stay tuned for new content.  If you want to see something new, just let us know in the comments below.

-Ben

Video Tutorial: TouchDown Personal Edition

Here is the first in our series of videos on How to Maximize Touchdown for your device. This brief video gives a great overview of our newest product, the Personal Edition.  Enjoy!

What kinds of videos would you like to see?

Don’t already have the fabulous Personal Edition of TouchDown? Purchase it at www.Nitrodesk.com