This article was originally posted by the FTC. See the original article here.
If you have a federal student loan, you probably already know that the Coronavirus emergency relief program that has paused your payments is ending. Repayments will begin again after January 31, 2022. Scammers know it, too, and are looking for ways to take advantage: they’re calling, texting, and e-mailing to try to use any confusion around restarting your student loan payments to steal your money and personal information.
Check out what some of these scam calls sound like.
If you get a call, text, e-mail, or message on social media from someone about your federal student loan, here are some things to keep in mind:
Never pay an upfront fee. It’s illegal for companies to charge you before they help you. If you pay up front to reduce or get rid of your student loan debt, you might not get any help — or your money back. Also, remember that there’s nothing a company can do for you that you can’t do yourself for free. And you never have to pay to get help from the Department of Education.
Never give out your Federal Student Aid ID, your Social Security number, or other personal information to anyone who contacts you. Scammers posing as student loan servicers can use this information to log into your account, change your contact information, and even divert your payments to them. Instead of giving out your FSA ID, call or contact your servicer.
Don’t sign up for quick loan forgiveness. Scammers might say they can get rid of your loans before they know the details of your situation. Or they might promise a loan forgiveness program — that most people won’t qualify for. They might even say they’ll wipe out your loans by disputing them. But they can’t.
Scammers use fake seals and logos to lure people in. They promise special access to repayment plans, new federal loan consolidations, or loan forgiveness programs. It’s a lie. If you have federal loans, go to the Department of Education directly at StudentAid.gov.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
In light of persistent and ongoing cyber threats, CISA urges critical infrastructure owners and operators to take immediate steps to strengthen their computer network defenses against potential cyberattacks. CISA has released CISA Insights: Preparing For and Mitigating Potential Cyber Threats to provide critical infrastructure leaders with steps to proactively strengthen their organization’s operational resiliency against sophisticated threat actors, including nation-states and their proxies.
CISA encourages leadership at all organizations—and critical infrastructure owners and operators in particular—to review the CISA Insights and adopt a heighted state of awareness.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Adobe has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple Adobe products. An attacker could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.
CISA encourages users and administrators to review Adobe’s Security Bulletins and apply the necessary updates.
This article was originally posted by the FTC. See the original article here.
As residents across Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri begin taking stock following the devastating series of tornadoes that hit their states, you might be looking for ways to help the people and communities affected. Unfortunately, scammers also are busy trying to take advantage. You want to make sure your money gets in the hands of charities you want to help.
If you’re looking for a way to help, the FTC urges you to be cautious of potential charity scams. Do some research to ensure that your donation will go to a reputable organization that will use the money as promised.
Consider these tips:
Donate to charities you know and trust with a proven track record with dealing with disasters.
Designate the disaster so you can ensure your funds are going to disaster relief, rather than a general fund that the charity could use for any of its work.
If you get donation requests by email, never click on links or open attachments in e-mails unless you know who sent it. You could unknowingly install malware on your computer.
Don’t assume that charity messages posted on social media are legitimate. Research the organization yourself.
When texting to donate, confirm the number with the source before you donate. The charge will show up on your mobile phone bill, but donations are not immediate.
Find out if the charity or fundraiser must be registered in your state by contacting the National Association of State Charity Officials. If they should be registered, but they’re not, consider donating through another charity.
This article is contributed. See the original author and article here.
Organizational charts can be an essential tool for any growing organization, especially now when new hires are trying to figure out their place in the company without actually meeting their colleagues in person. Org charts can help visualize reporting structures and quickly provide employees with information they need—such as titles, roles, and responsibilities—to move processes forward. They can also be a practical tool for planning and evaluating re-structuring efforts or identifying open positions that need to be filled.
The Microsoft Visio desktop app has long supported the creation of org charts, complete with photos and personnel information, and the ability to automatically create org structures from data sources like Excel, Exchange, and Azure Active Directory.
As of today, users with a Visio Plan 1 or Visio Plan 2 license can now create org charts in the Visio web app, too. Alternatively, they can start creating org charts from data directly in Excel using the Data Visualizer add-in and further edit those diagrams using new org chart shapes in Visio for the web.
New org chart stencils and layouts in Visio for the web
As part of this release, we’ve added five org chart stencils—Basic, Badge, Medal, Rollout, and Pinboard—with predefined, color-coded shapes that can easily be dragged onto the canvas to represent each employee or vacancy in your team, department, or organization. You can also choose from shapes that populate the initials of your employees’ names. Once you’ve added the new shapes to the canvas, you can add information, such as name, title/role, contact details, and location. Then, use connectors to show the hierarchy.
Five available org chart stencils now available—Basic, Badge, Medal, Rollout, and Pinboard—and shapes included in Visio for the web
We’ve also added eight new layout options—top to bottom, bottom to top, left to right, right to left, side-by-side, and hybrid combinations—so you can quickly visualize the hierarchy of your team, department, or organization how you want. Once your shapes are connected, select Layouts from the Organization Chart tab. Then, select your preferred layout.
Eight org chart layout options available from the Organization Chart tab in Visio for the web
To help you get started quickly, we’ve also provided a few starter diagrams, representing various org chart scenarios, including HR management and Scrum Team structure.
Available templates showing different organization charts in Visio for the web
To get started, visit office.com/launch/visio, select your preferred diagram template, and start visualizing your team structure. Visit our support article on how to create an organization chart in Visio to learn more.
Starting from the Visio Data Visualizer add-in in Excel
The Data Visualizer add-in is available for Excel on PC, Mac, and Excel for the web with a Microsoft 365 work or school account. You can access the add-in from the Visio Data Visualizer button in the ribbon of the Insert tab. If you are unable to find the button in the ribbon, select Get Add-ins and search for “Visio Data Visualizer” in the search box. Once the add-in has been added, you can select the Visio Data Visualizer button to quickly create a diagram from Excel data.
Select one of the five organization chart layouts available in the Data Visualizer add-in.
Blank Excel spreadsheet showing the five org chart layout options available from the Visio Data Visualizer add-in
You can quickly replace the sample data in the Excel table with your organization’s data—including Employee ID, Name, Manager ID, Title, and Role Type—for each person you want to include in your org chart, then select Refresh.
Data table and org chart in an Excel spreadsheet
If you have a subscription to Visio, you can further edit the diagram by changing the theme, modifying the layout, and adding and formatting the text. To further edit the org chart in Visio for the web, select either Edit in the diagram area or the ellipses (…) > Open in web.
After opening your diagram in Visio for the web, you will see the Basic Organization Chart stencil and shapes pinned to the Shapes pane. You can update your diagram using these basic shapes or also search for new shapes by typing a keyword in the search box and selecting the magnifying glass. Drag the shape you want from the stencil onto the canvas or pin the stencil to the Shapes pane for easy access.
Organization chart in Visio for the web
When you’re done, hit the Share button in the upper right corner to invite your colleagues to collaborate on your diagram and provide feedback.
Please note: Any changes made in Visio for the web—beyond adding and formatting text, changing the theme, or changing the diagram’s layout—cannot be synced back to the original Excel source file. For more details on how to create an org chart based on Excel data using the Visio Data Visualizer add-in, please review our support article.
We’re excited about the future of Visio, and we look forward to hearing your feedback to make the Visio web app the diagramming tool to convey information and processes more effectively. Please tell us what you think in the comments below or send feedback via our new Feedback portal!
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