Tag Archives: Control Panel

Audit end-user SAML events in the Admin console

Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) is an XML standard that allows secure web domains to exchange user authentication and authorization data. Google Apps for Work acts as an Identity Provider using SAML 2.0. With SAML, a user can use their Google Apps credentials to sign in to enterprise cloud applications via Single Sign-On (SSO).

In the Admin console today, you can track the creation, modification, and deployment of SAML applications by Apps administrators (under Reports > Audit > Admin). With this launch, you can now audit end-user events as well: successful SAML login and failed SAML login. You can see the audit trail on these events under Reports > Audit > SAML in the Admin console. This audit trail helps significantly with the debugging of runtime errors and the monitoring of user login events. It also provides information on error type, as well as OU-level filters that can enhance search capability.



Launch Details
Release 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

More Information
Help Center: SAML audit log

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Mobile device management insights now in one place

In May, we launched Mobile Audit, which audits activities on iOS and Android devices managed by Google Mobile Management, and which allows Apps admins to view reports on these activities and to receive alerts when certain activities take place. Today, we’re introducing Insights, a centralized location where admins can perform each of those actions. Located in the Device Management area of the Admin console, it features three sections: Mobile Reports, Mobile Audit, and Mobile Alerts. Check it out today, and refer to the Help Center for more information on Google Mobile Management.

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

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

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Get insights on your domain’s mobile devices

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Create or delete Google+ profiles for multiple employees at once

In the Admin console today, you can create Google+ profiles for employees in your domain—either one by one or across an entire organizational unit (OU). Until now, however, if you needed to create profiles for multiple individuals or only a portion of an OU, that process was tedious and lengthy. And if you needed to delete profiles, no tool existed. To save you valuable time and to give you greater control over your employees’ information, we’re now launching the ability to create and delete Google+ profiles for several employees at once.

Simply visit Apps > Additional Google services > Google+ > Profiles in the Admin console, and select all of the users for whom you want to create profiles (or whose profiles you want to delete).


In any profile you create, all information—except the individual’s name, picture, and tagline—will remain private until that user takes action to make it public. It’s important to note that you will not be able create a profile for any user who already has a public Gmail picture or who has uploaded photos to Picasa. Just as is the case today, those users will need to create their own Google+ profiles manually.

If you delete profiles for certain users, some of their content will also be deleted, while some of their content will remain. For more specific details, carefully review the summary of terms that appears in the Admin console before you complete this process.

*Please note that the bulk creation feature is not available to K–12 Google for Education customers.

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

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

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Manage Google+ profiles

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Monitor key activities on managed devices from the Admin console

As security on mobile devices becomes increasingly important, we want to give Google Apps administrators an improved ability to monitor key activities occurring on managed devices. With that in mind, we are launching Mobile Audit, which audits activities on iOS and Android devices managed by Google Mobile Management. Examples of activities that will be recorded include mobile application changes, operating system updates, and device settings changes.

This will help admins make more informed decisions around which policies to enable and what actions to take. For instance, imagine a user loses their device. Previously, an admin would simply wipe the device. Following this launch, however, the admin can investigate further by checking the device’s audit trail. If he or she observes suspicious activities—like failed attempts to log in to the device or a change in the device’s serial number—he or she can choose to block the device instead of just wiping it.

Admins can visit the Reports page in the Admin console to see all audit events. They can then filter those events by event name, device ID, user name, or date and time. Additionally, admins can set up “alerts,” so they’ll be notified when certain activities take place on their users’ devices.

For more information on Mobile Audit and to see a list of all events audited, please refer to the Help Center.

Please note that only users with Google Apps Unlimited licenses (excluding Google Apps for Education) will have their mobile events audited.




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

Rollout pace:
Gradual rollout over the course of several weeks

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Mobile audit log
Help Center: Administrator alerts
Help Center: View your organization's mobile devices
Google Apps Developer Blog

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Improved search and filter experience in Reports section of Admin console

Based on your feedback, we’re improving the search and filter experience in the Audit Reports section of the Admin console. Previously, when you typed a query in any one of the “Filters” fields in a particular report, we would automatically begin searching when your cursor left that field—an unexpected and often confusing experience. To make this workflow more intuitive, we’re adding a Search button below the filtering fields, which you’ll need to explicitly click to launch any search. This should make the process of pulling key reports quicker and easier.


Check out the Help Center for more details.

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

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

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Admin Audit Log

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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More ways for schools & organizations to manage YouTube

Posted by Matt Ward, Software Engineer

(Cross-posted on Google for Education blog) 

In August 2015 we launched YouTube Settings in Google Apps to give schools and other organizations a way to manage the YouTube experience for users logged in to their domains and on networks they manage. Today we’re happy to announce a number of new features to make these more flexible and easier to use.

Channel whitelisting
Administrators and designated approvers can now whitelist entire channels, not just individual videos. For example, if you want to ensure that all current and future videos uploaded to your organization or school’s channel are watchable by your users, you can now simply add the entire channel to your approved list. Learn how to designate approvers.
Using YouTube settings in Google Apps for Education already gives your users access to all the videos on educational YouTube channels like Veritasium, but now your domain’s video approvers can add other channels as well, like your school’s YouTube channel.

More flexible options for administrators
Administrators have new capabilities to help them manage YouTube to meet the needs of their organization.
  • Administrators can now choose between two levels of Restricted Mode restrictions -- strict or moderate -- for their logged-in users. 
Admins can select between a strict and moderate level of restriction for YouTube. 
  • Network managers can now use an HTTP header to enforce either strict or moderate restricted mode on managed devices. 
  • Network managers can also use this new DNS configuration if they want to enforce moderate restricted mode on wifi networks they manage.
  • Coming soon, logged-out users on YouTube’s mobile apps on restricted networks will also get a restricted experience. 
  • And since we know this can be tricky to set up, network managers can visit this page to ensure their network restrictions have been configured correctly. 

YouTube for Schools
In August we announced that we would no longer be maintaining YouTube for Schools (YT4S). As of July 1, 2016, YT4S will no longer be available. View the YouTube Settings in Google Apps Help Center for additional details.

More information
Learn how to enable YouTube settings for your Google Apps domain and join the discussion in the product forum.


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

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

Impact: 
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI


Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Launch detail categories
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Mobile device management and more with the Google Admin app for Android

The latest version of the Google Admin app for Android brings many of the mobile device management (MDM) capabilities you love on your computer to your mobile phone or tablet. With this launch, you don’t need to be at your desk to view a list of your domain’s managed devices and to activate, block, delete, or wipe them. Because many of these actions may impact the security of your organization’s data, it’s important to be able to perform them anywhere, anytime. Now you can.

Android Admin app 1.png Android Admin app 2.png Android Admin app 1.png

In addition to these MDM features, the latest Admin app for Android automatically stores your preferences in the Cloud. Should you get a new device or uninstall (and then reinstall) the Admin app, your preferences will be restored.

Check out the Help Center for more information, and download the latest version of the Admin app for Android on Google Play.

Launch Details
Release 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

More Information
Help Center: Manage your users' devices from an Android device

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Launch detail categories
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Searching for settings, articles, and more in the Admin console now quicker and easier

We know that it often takes too long to find the item you’re looking for in the Admin console. To simplify your searches, we’re launching natural-language-based, “free form” queries in the Admin console. Starting today, you can pose questions in everyday language or enter commonly used words into the Admin console search box, then choose from a list of suggested results to navigate directly to your intended destination. There’s no need to jump from page to page! In addition to the tasks, users, and groups that would previously show up as search results, you’ll now see specific settings and prominent Help Center articles listed as well.

natural language search1.gif

AC Search.PNG


Check out the Help Center article below for more information on how you can save time searching the Admin console.

Launch Details
Release 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

More Information
Help Center: Use natural language search

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Launch detail categories
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Easy and secure single sign-on for popular work apps

Millions of Google Apps for Work customers rely on Google to protect their employees’ login information for Google Apps services like Google Drive and Gmail. With this and previous launches, we’re extending that ease and security to additional applications that businesses rely on.

SAML (Security Assertion Markup Language) 2.0 allows individuals to use their Google login credentials to sign in to various enterprise cloud applications. In October 2015, we launched support for SAML 2.0 for more than 15 popular SaaS providers, including Salesforce, Workday, and Dropbox. Today, we’re excited to announce that several additional apps are now pre-integrated with our systems, including Microsoft Office 365, Facebook at Work, Concur, Box, and Slack. This adds to the hundreds of apps we already support through the Google Apps Marketplace and OpenID Connect.

This launch not only makes the sign-in process easier for employees, it simplifies the management of end user IDs and passwords for Apps admins as well. For SAML set-up details and a full list of pre-integrated apps, please visit the Help Center.

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

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

Impact:
Admins and end users

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information 
Help Center: Using SAML to set up federated SSO
Google for Work Blog

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

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Automatically assign Google Apps licenses to new employees based on their organizational units

We know that many of you work at large and organizationally complex companies, where different teams need different Google Apps products and services. This can make onboarding new employees a time-consuming and tedious process.

Today’s launch should make that process significantly easier, by allowing you to automatically assign licenses for Google Apps products and services at the organizational-unit (OU) level (until today, you could assign licenses at the OU level, but those licenses would not automatically apply to new users). This will be particularly useful if different employees in your organization need different Google Apps products, like Vault or Drive storage, or editions, like Google Apps for Work or Google Apps Unlimited. Note that you can still automatically assign licenses at the domain level.

Starting today, if you turn Auto-Licensing ON for a particular Google Apps product or service in a particular OU, all users currently in and subsequently added to that OU will receive that license. Users in child OUs will also inherit that license, unless you choose to override the setting. The Auto-Licensing setting can be found in the Admin console (Billing > Subscriptions); for more explicit instructions, check out the Help Center.

Auto-Licensing for OUs.png

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

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

Impact:
Admins only

Action:
Admin action suggested/FYI

More Information
Help Center: Set automatic licensing options for an organization

Note: all launches are applicable to all Google Apps editions unless otherwise noted

Launch release calendar
Launch detail categories
Get these product update alerts by email
Subscribe to the RSS feed of these updates