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It's not your connection -- Slack is down (update: restored)
For many users Slack is down right now, and there's no word yet on when it will start working again.
Slack adds Microsoft Teams video call options
More of us than ever are relying on video calling apps to chat with friends, family and colleagues. Slack, for example, has seen a huge increase in calls made and received through its app in the last month amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting today, the app will give you more options. For instance, you can now hop into a Microsoft Teams call directly from the productivity app, which said last week it was working on such an option.
Slack is working on a way to call Microsoft Teams users
As much as modern technology makes our daily lives easier, there's sometimes that frequent headache that comes when two competing services don't play nicely with one another. It's something Slack and Microsoft Teams users have had to contend with as they've transitioned to working from home. Thankfully, a fix is on its way.
Microsoft Teams update helps cut through the chaos of group calls
This week marks the third anniversary of Microsoft Teams, and at a time when remote working is more prevalent than ever before, Microsoft has announced a bunch of new features designed to make it easier for teams to communicate and collaborate -- both during the coronavirus outbreak and into the future.
Slack’s latest changes couldn’t come at a better time
Slack was already a big part of modern work life for many people, but as more companies turn to remote work, it is becoming even more essential. Even if you were using Slack to chat with coworkers in an office before, conducting all of your conversations there could be a big shift. Fortunately, Slack is introducing changes to make its desktop platform easier to use and organize.
Slack's desktop apps get dark mode options
The dark mode trend looks like it's here to stay, with more and more companies introducing black color schemes for their apps. The latest feature in Slack for desktop is support for dark mode to save your eyes when you're burning the midnight oil.
Facebook's Workplace redesign looks nothing like Slack
For the longest time, Facebook and its various technological tendrils, including WhatsApp and Instagram, have been a popular time killer at work. They're the sites and apps you flip to on your lunch break or when you can't stand looking at another Excel spreadsheet. Facebook, predictably, isn't content with filling these gaps in productivity. For the last few years, it's been pushing a version of Facebook called Workplace, which helps employees chat, collaborate and generally get stuff done.
Slack tightens security to stop people from stealing data
Slack is integral to the way many businesses operate, but the messaging service has had problems in the past with security issues. Today, Slack is adding features which the company says will help admins lock down their workspaces to prevent people from accessing information they shouldn't and reduce the leaking of sensitive company data.
Happy Monday, Slack is down (update: it's back)
If your computer or phone was pinging you a little less frequently today, it might be because Slack had some service issues. It said on its status page some people had issues sending messages and that others couldn't access their channels at all. Slack said it was fully up and running again about an hour after the issues emerged, so you shouldn't have any more problems in trying to send GIFs to your co-workers.
Slack's latest update should make its desktop app more efficient
Slack has become an essential part of the daily workflow for many of us, but its desktop app has perhaps been in need of a little TLC. An update is rolling out over the next few weeks that Slack claims will make the app more efficient and help you get more things done.
Slack resets tens of thousands of passwords following 2015 data breach
Tens of thousands of Slack users will have to change their passwords after the company learned new details about a 2015 data breach. If you created your account before March of that year, haven't changed your password since and don't log in via a single-sign-on provider (i.e. an organization's Slack network), you'll need to update your credentials.
Slack fixes bug that could have let hackers intercept downloads
Slack has fixed a bug that could have allowed hackers to intercept and redirect downloads in the Windows desktop version of the messaging app. However, it seems no Slack users were affected before the service fixed the vulnerability.
Slack is adding email conversations and calendar integrations
In case you don't already count on Slack for just about every part of your work day, the business communications service is adding a whole bunch of new features that will keep you chatting with your co-workers without having to open new tabs and applications. The company is introducing shared channels, email and calendar integrations and an improved search feature that makes it easier to find just about anything.
Slack integrates Office 365 tools into its platform
A lot of companies (Engadget included) rely on Slack to get things done, and in recent times the "MSN Messenger for the workplace" has integrated a whole bunch of apps into its platform, including Dropbox, Zoom and G Suite, to make workflow smoother. Now it's adding Office 365 tools to the mix.
Microsoft Teams beefs up with new features as it turns two
Microsoft Teams, the company's Slack-like workplace collaboration tool, is celebrating its second birthday this week. What better time to unveil new features? Some seem truly innovative, like being able to choose the background you'd like to use during a video chat (maybe to hide the fact you're calling in from a coffee shop). And others, like private channels, really should have been there from the start. But what's clear is that Microsoft isn't giving up on this space: It still wants to change the way we work.
Slack removed 28 accounts with ties to hate groups
Today, Slack removed 28 group accounts because of their "clear affiliation with known hate groups." The news comes shortly after the media organization Unicorn Riot leaked Slack messages by the group Identity Evropa. Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center have classified Identity Evropa as a hate group, but Slack would not say if it was one of the groups removed today.
Slack apologizes for 'mistakenly' banning people who had visited Iran
On Wednesday a number of people noticed their Slack access had suddenly been revoked, and the company said it was due to complying with "U.S. trade embargoes and economic sanctions regulations." However, it had cut off people who weren't logging on from countries impacted by sanctions or embargoes, although as TechCrunch noted, some said they had traveled to countries like Iran, North Korea or Cuba. Late Friday Slack apologized for its far-too-wide-reaching bans, claiming that "we made a series of mistakes and inadvertently deactivated a number of accounts that we shouldn't have." Slack: We did not block any user based on their nationality or ethnicity. As is standard in the enterprise software industry, Slack uses location information principally derived from IP addresses to implement these required blocks. We do not collect, use, or possess any information about the nationality or ethnicity of our users. We have restored access to most of the mistakenly blocked accounts, and we are working hard to restore any remaining users whose access was blocked in error. If you think we've made a mistake in blocking your access, please reach out to feedback@slack.com and we'll review as soon as possible. Going forward, the company said it will "soon" block access to IP addresses from certain countries. While users who travel their may not have access while connected to those networks, they won't be banned and can log in when they're in another region that isn't under legal sanctions.
With Khashoggi, tech confronts its blood money
In 2015 we laughed at Hacking Team for getting hacked. Their profit-driven facilitation of human rights abuses around the world was somehow barely competent, but notorious. They sold illegal hackware and surveillance tech to brutal regimes and trained them in attacking citizens and journalists. We knew they were evil clowns. We just didn't expect what happened next.
Slack buys and shuts down intelligent email app Astro
Slack has acquired email app company Astro and it will be using the company's expertise to better incorporate email into Slack channels. The company said that with over 50 million channels created to date, they're increasingly becoming the platform through which teams collaborate. "But we all know that email is still a very important tool in business communication," said Slack. "We've taken some steps to make it possible to integrate email into Slack, but now we're in a position to make that interoperability much simpler and much, much more powerful."
Google gives its Slack rival the ability to snooze notifications
You can now stop Hangouts Chat notifications from breaking your concentration when you're in the zone... or taking a short nap after a stressful task. Google has updated its Slack rival with the ability to block notifications for a set amount of time -- just click on your status button and choose from the snooze notification options in the drop-down menu. You can choose to block alerts for as short as 30 minutes to as long as 8 hours, but you have to do so manually each time and can't set a schedule for it.
