[Tip:Chrome Device Management ] Chrome Release Channel best practices

While the majority of your users will be on the Stable channel of Chrome OS, if your organization has a large number of Chromebooks, there are several reasons why you should always keep some devices on the Beta channel:

Google recommends that you keep most of your users on the Stable channel, and 5% of your users on the Beta channel. We also recommend you keep your IT team on the Beta or Dev channels.

There are three types of Chrome OS releases: Stable, Beta, and Dev. You can set the release channel for your Chrome device users in the Admin console under Device management > Chrome > Device Settings.

Keep 5% of your organization on the Chrome OS Beta channel

While the majority of your users will be on the Stable channel of Chrome OS, if your organization has a large number of Chromebooks, there are several reasons why you should always keep some devices on the Beta channel:

• Your organization will get a 4-6 week preview of new features.
• Some features you discover may require you to communicate additional information to your organization.
• Some features may not be suitable for all of your users, and you may need to investigate ways to block these features.
• In some cases, you may find issues which could impact the use of the devices in your environment. Finding this out early enough with fewer devices will give you enough time to contact Google, and if we can’t resolve the issue, block the update before it hits all of your users.

As a general rule, we recommend you keep at least 5% of your devices on the Beta channel at all times. If you have multiple types of hardware, we recommend you keep 5% of each type of hardware on the Beta channel.

Google will actively investigate issues on the Beta channel. Please contact Enterprise support to report any issues that you notice.

Keep your IT staff on the Beta and Dev channels

In addition to keeping most of your IT staff on Beta channel, it can be helpful to keep some devices on the Dev channel, which will give you 9-12 week preview of what is coming to the stable version of Chrome OS. Benefits of being on the Dev channel include the following:

• Your IT staff can test to make sure that your apps and systems are compatible with the latest Chrome OS software updates and feature changes.
• While we automatically fix most issues before the release is marked as stable, we may not be able to catch all the corner cases which may uniquely impact your environment. Should any issues arise, your developers and IT staff can identify and report (via the Chromium site) any changes that may impact your environment before they reach the Beta or Stable channel.

Note that the Dev channel, by its nature of being an early release of Chrome, is not 100% stable, and should be used by IT staff or developers. Since some instability is expected, the Dev channel is more useful for staying aware of upcoming features in the OS.

For More information - https://goo.gl/IMl8Bu Kindle Edition

[How to set and manage Chrome policies for students using Chromebook]

At school, you may need to install only the apps specified by the school on Chromebooks that students use, or control Chrome extensions. It is necessary to prohibit students from visiting harmful sites on Chromebook.


G Suite administrator can create and control policies for users who use Chromebooks.

• User policies apply regardless of which devices are logged in
• Targeted users in the domain through the Admin Console.
• Control your Chrome browser environment
• Allowed apps and extension controls
• Force apps and extensions to install
• Chrome Web Store Permission Limitations
• Browser environment control - Incognito mode, history, ad hoc mode, safe browsing, malicious sites, remote access client allowed
• Proxy settings
• Control the use of screenshots, block and allow access URLs
• Print control etc.
• Organizations that use G Suite or G Suite for Education users can manage policies in the G Suite Admin console.
• Companies and schools that do not use Google Apps must acquire and manage Chrome Device Management Console licenses.

How to set Chrome policies for users.

As a Chrome administrator for your organization, you can set policies for how people use their Google Account on a Chrome device, an Android device, or the Chrome browser. These policies are cloud-managed, so they apply when signing in from a personal or public device. The policies don't apply to users signed in as guests or with a Google Account outside of your organization (such as a personal Gmail account).

You can also set device-level policies on corporate-managed Windows®, Mac®, and Linux® computers.

Android apps can run on Chrome OS on supported device models only. We are constantly adding support for new devices. To allow your users to run Android apps, you must enable Android apps on supported Chrome devices in your organization.

Before you begin

Turn on Chrome Management

For Chrome user policies to work on Windows, Mac, or Linux computers, Chrome Management must be turned on in your Admin console.

1. Sign in to the Google Admin console.
2. From the Admin console dashboard, go to Apps > Additional Google Services.
3. Next to Chrome Management, click  .
4. Choose ON for everyone, ON for some organizations or OFF.
   For more detailed steps, see  Turn Chrome Management on or off.

If you purchase Chrome device management licenses: Chrome policies still apply for users who sign in to a managed Chrome device, even if Chrome Management is turned off.

Set up user policies

Before you begin: To turn the service on or off for select groups of users, put their accounts in an organizational unit.

1. Sign in to the Google Admin console.
2. From the Admin console dashboard, go to Device management.
3. On the left, click Chrome management.
4. Click User settings. 
5. On the left, select the organization to which you want the settings to apply to. Learn more
   Important: Make sure Chrome Management is turned on for this organization.
6. Make the settings you want. A  marks settings that don't apply to all devices (click the  for details).
   Tip: Quickly find a setting on the User settings page by typing in Search settings at the top.
7. At the bottom, click Save.
   Settings typically take effect in minutes. But they might take up to an hour to apply for everyone.

Sample 1 :  In Chrome Device Management Console, Device management  > Chrome >  User Settings > General -> Avatar

  

Sample 2: Forcing administrators to automatically install apps and extensions to users in the "Sales" organization. Device management> Chrome> User settings> Force installed apps and extensions



Three apps that are installed by the administrator after installation are automatically installed



Sample 3: User Settings> Startup > Home Button, Forcing the home button to be removed, and forcing the administrator to load the home page at startup




"Home" button forced to disappear from user's browser Automatically display the homepage specified by the administrator at startup.

For More information - https://goo.gl/IMl8Bu Kindle Edition

[TIP] What is Smart Lock on a Chromebook and how do I use it?

Using Smart Lock on your Chromebook

If you are a frequent user of a Chromebook, the boot speed is very fast when you turn on your Chromebook and you must enter it each time on the sign-in screen.

The Smart Lock feature on your Chromebook is designed to ease this inconvenience. This means that if you have a smartphone near your Chromebook, you can sign in without a password.

To enable this feature, your smartphone must be at least Bluetooth-enabled Android 5.0, and your Chromebook must be Chrome OS version 40 or higher.

On your Chromebook, you'll need to select Settings menu> Show advanced settings> Use Smart Lock for Chromebook (Beta). When it is selected to use, search for a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone in the vicinity and select the desired smartphone.

After your Smart Lock setup is complete, if your smartphone is nearby and you're signed in, your Chromebook's login status will also be unlocked as shown in the screen below, in which case you can sign in directly without entering your password by clicking the login picture with your mouse. If your smartphone is logged out or powered off, your Chromebook's login will also require a password to sign in.

On your smartphone, you need to set up Settings> Security> Smart Lock> Trusted device.

For more information- https://goo.gl/IMl8Bu  - Paperback/Kindle Edition)

[Tip: Attachments in Gmail] Update an incorrectly sent attachment (like MS Office/PDF files) without resending

When sending an attachment via Google Gmail, the file size is limited to 25MB.
In other words, files that can be sent as attachments can not be sent over 25MB in size. If you send attachments in the traditional way, if the contents are incorrect after the send, or if the sent attachments are modified, you have to resend them.

However, with GMail, attachments can be sent as links via Google Drive.
The original file exists in my Google Drive and only the link information of that file is sent. This allows G Suite users to send links up to 5TB.

I upload all attachments on the drive and send them in a link. In particular, PDF files and MS Office document files will be sent by this link method. Sometimes, after sending a link to an MS Office document or a PDF file, the originals may be wrong and you may need to resend the revision.

In the old days, you would need to modify the file and send it back to the recipients, but with version control in Google Drive, you can use version control to add the latest version of the file to the document Just upload.

When sending attachments from Gmail, send them via Google Drive as in the image above.

Like PDF documents, non-Google document formats on Google Drive can take advantage of version control. You can upload and maintain multiple versions of a document. These documents, which are delivered as links, will maintain the latest version of the document if the uploaded version of the file is uploaded without any changes to the link.
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New Book-

Advanced Chrome Device Management & 2017 Essential Guide for Chromebook Users: Chrome for Work/Chrome for Education/Chrome for Kiosk/Chrome for Signage 

Kindle Edition"Amazon Kindle Store - https://goo.gl/ari79C

Compare core Google+ and G Suite Google+ features

Google+ has features for end users and  for business G Suite versions. Let's review the differences between Google+ for end users and Google+ for G Suite.

Compare core and business features

Google+ includes business features in addition to the same core functionality as the consumer version of Google+ for G Suite customers. With Google+, you can restrict Google+ to only certain users, control whether you share data with users outside your domain, and manage your social collaborations in a variety of ways.

.G Suite Administrators can perform the following functions:

• Turn Google+ on or off for everyone or for a specific user.
• By default, keep your posts and communities outside of your organization's domain.
• Correct the age of the user who mistakenly entered it incorrectly when signing up.
• Controls whether search engines index user profiles.
• Control whether third-party apps use the Google+ API.
• Manage your Google+ profile. For example:
• Identify who has a Google+ profile in your organization's domain.
• Create and manage Google+ profiles for users in your domain.
• Block users from changing their Google+ profile name.

Google+ users in your organization can:

• Easily share content internally with everyone in your domain without having to add everyone in your organization to your circles. Together with your shared circles, your organization's domain name will be shown to users as a sharing option.
• You can override the default sharing settings for individual posts and communities.
• Update your profile search feature settings.
• Profile labels recognize different Google+ users in your domain, so you can easily distinguish them from individuals or other external profiles.
• Restrict posting to your organization's domain only. People who have received private posts will not be able to reshare this post with users outside of your organization.

If you use Google+ within a domain, just like the images below, it will only give you the ability to organize communities within your domain. In addition, communities created within a domain can be made public within the domain or privately. Communities that are created privately in your domain can only be secretly engaged in community activities. Private communities are not exposed through search within the domain. Only members who are secretly subscribed can be made available. This is one of those features not available for regular Google+.

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New Book-

Advanced Chrome Device Management & 2017 Essential Guide for Chromebook Users: Chrome for Work/Chrome for Education/Chrome for Kiosk/Chrome for Signage 

Kindle Edition"Amazon Kindle Store - https://goo.gl/ari79C

 

[Maximum file size of one file that can be stored in Google Drive]

G Suite users are often confused. What is the maximum size of attachments that you can currently send through Gmail? As you already know, attachments in gmail can only be sent up to 25MB. However, it can be confusing if the size of the file you can send to a URL link via Google Drive is 10GB, 1TB, or 5TB.

In Gmail, the maximum size of a file you can send as an attachment is 25 MB. However, if you want to send files over 25MB in size, you can use Google Drive to save the file and send the file as a URL link. At this time, the maximum size of one file that can be sent as URL link can be up to 5TB. (In the past, 10GB, 1TB, now up to 5TB) In other words, the maximum size of a file that can be stored in Google Drive is 5TB.

The maximum file size limitation of G Suite Basic, G Suite Business (Unlimited) and G Suite for Education are the same.

For more information - https://support.google.com/drive/answer/37603?hl=en

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New Book-

Advanced Chrome Device Management & 2017 Essential Guide for Chromebook Users: Chrome for Work/Chrome for Education/Chrome for Kiosk/Chrome for Signage 

Kindle Edition"Amazon Kindle Store - https://goo.gl/ari79C

 

[How to create and manage Supervised Users on Chromebook]

Create & manage supervised users

Supervised users are primarily intended for parents to identify and manage the websites their children visit when they share a single Chromebook at home.

Parents have owner rights, and each child can create a login account for their Chromebook, and the owner can manage the following tasks:

• Identify the websites you've visited.
• Allow or block specific websites.
• Prevent users from installing apps and extensions.
• Make sure users are using SafeSearch (enabled by default).
• Adjust user settings.

What is a supervised user?

Managed users can browse the websites within the administrator-defined scope. Administrators of a supervised user (owner) can do the following in Chrome: Allow or block specific websites Review websites visited by other users manage other settings

Managed users do not need a Google Account. Their settings and data will not be synced to other devices through Chrome sign-in sync. Administered users only apply to this device.

After creating a new supervised user, the administrator can manage the user at www.chrome.com/manage

Add supervised user

1. Click the status area where your account picture is displayed, then click Sign out.
2. On the sign-in screen, click More> Add supervised user.

3. Click ‘Create supervised user’.

4. Click the account that will manage the supervised user. This is the account that will be managed by my Chromebook owner.
5. Enter your account password and click Next. Enter password for owner account

6. Select the name, password, and photo of the supervised user. Where name and password are not your Google Account, but the name and password your supervisor needs to sign in to your Chromebook.

7. [Optional] To import an existing supervised user from another computer, click Import existing supervised user.
8. Click Next.
9. When prompted to confirm that the supervised user was created, click OK.

To manage the supervised user - www.chrome.com/manage

• Select the name of the supervisor
• Check activity history
• Administration settings
• Allow all websites (except for blocked websites)
• Manage blocked sites
• Set SafeSearch

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For more information- https://goo.gl/IMl8Bu

 

[Differences between User and Device settings for Chromebook Management]

Key policy settings for Chrome Device Management

If you're using a Chromebook in a company or school that uses G Suite / G Suite for Education, you may be confused by the difference between user settings and Chromebook device settings.

User settings can be set through admin console of G Suite / G Suite for Education. However, Chrome Device Management console is required for Chromebook device-specific settings. I will explain the differences in detail.

There are more than 150 policies that can be set through Chrome Device Management. The settings can be broadly categorized into five categories - User Settings, Network Settings, Device Settings, Public Session Settings, and Kiosk Settings.

One important aspect of setting up Chrome devices is setting Chrome devices to Public Session, Kiosk Settings, and Single App Kiosk Mode.

For example, if you are using a Chrome device for multiple users, a business center PC, a PC for book searching in a bookstore or library, or a public PC used by several production workers in a production plant for business purposes, Device management is setting this as a public session. You can use your PC without a login in a public session.

A single app kiosk setting lets you run only a single specified app, which only works in full-screen mode. Other apps, including things like regular Internet search, will not be available.

Typically, the most important of the administrative settings in a business or school will be user settings and device settings. Public session and kiosk mode settings are optional depending on your Chromebook usage.

Differences between user and device settings

• User policies apply regardless of which devices are logged in
• Targeted users in the domain through the Admin Console.
• Control your Chrome browser environment
• Allowed apps and extension controls
• Force apps and extensions to install
• Chrome Web Store Permission Limitations
• Browser environment control - Incognito mode, history, ad hoc mode, safe browsing, malicious sites, remote access client allowed
• Proxy settings
• Control the use of screenshots, block and allow access URLs
• Print control etc.

                      ○        Organizations that use G Suite or G Suite for Education users can manage policies in the G Suite Admin console.

                      ○         Companies and schools that do not use Google Apps must acquire and manage Chrome Device Management Console licenses..

• Device policies are to control and manage devices regardless of who logs in.
• Control who can log in, how to update, etc.
• Control how users operate the device rather than what they use on the device

● Device registration and access

● Allow Guest Mode, Login Restrictions (Use only specified users), SSO,

● Chrome OS auto-update control, distribution channel control

● Manage kiosk settings

● Device status reporting

● Scheduled reboot

● Cloud Print Management

● Bluetooth control

● Stop using your device remotely

                      ○      Device policies can only be controlled through the Chrome Device Management console through Chrome device management licensing.

●         Each policy is mutually exclusive. - There is no policy that conflicts with each other.

If you're using a Chromebook in a company or school that uses G Suite or G Suite for Educations, you can manage your Chromebook users or set up your network without having to register your device. However, device management or opt-in settings, kiosk settings, device provisioning /deprovisioning, etc. are only available if you have a Chrome Device Management license.

Companies that use Chromebooks without G Suite will need a Chrome device management license to manage their Chromebooks and manage their users.

Management topics	G Suit /GSuite for Education Admin Console	Chrome device management console
User Settings	O	O
Network Settings	O	O
Device Settings	X	O
Public Settings	X	O
Kiosk Settings	X	O
Device Provision/Deprovision	X	O

For more information- https://goo.gl/IMl8Bu  - Paperback/Kindle Edition)