This guide is for small-business employees or administrators whose Microsoft 365 environment is incorrectly flagging legitimate emails as spam. By creating a mail flow rule in the Exchange Admin Center (EAC), you can tell Microsoft 365 to bypass spam filtering for a specific sender, ensuring their messages reach your inbox reliably.

Before You Begin

Use caution when whitelisting email addresses. Doing so bypasses certain security checks for that sender. Only whitelist addresses you fully trust, and plan to review your whitelist periodically to keep your environment secure.

Step-by-Step: Whitelisting an Email Address

1. Access the Exchange Admin Center

1. Log in to your Microsoft 365 Admin account.
2. In the left-hand navigation, select Admin Centers, then choose Exchange to open the Exchange Admin Center.

2. Go to Mail Flow Rules

1. In the left-hand menu of the Exchange Admin Center, click Mail Flow.
2. Select the Rules tab.

3. Create a New Rule

1. Click the + (Add) button.
2. Select Create a new rule.
3. Give the rule a descriptive name, such as Whitelist [email address], so it is easy to identify later.

4. Set the Sender Condition

1. Under Apply this rule if, choose The sender and then select is this person.
2. Type the email address you want to whitelist and click OK.

5. Configure the Spam Bypass Action

1. Under Do the following, select Modify the message properties.
2. Choose Set the spam confidence level (SCL) and set it to Bypass spam filtering.

6. Add Optional Security Conditions

To reduce risk, you can add extra conditions before saving. Optional checks include:

1. Checking for specific keywords in the subject line.
2. Verifying the sender’s IP address.
3. Ensuring the DMARC result is positive.

7. Save and Activate the Rule

1. Click Save to finalize the rule.
2. Confirm that the rule is enabled in the Rules list.

8. Test the Rule

1. Ask the whitelisted sender to send a test email to your mailbox.
2. Confirm the message arrives in the inbox without being flagged as spam.

Need Help?

If you run into issues or need more advanced configurations—such as using the Tenant Allow/Block List in Microsoft Defender for Office 365—contact the ACS support team for assistance.

This guide is for any Windows PC user who needs to verify whether updates were installed successfully or troubleshoot an update problem. By using the built-in Event Viewer application, you can filter Windows update activity by result—successful, failed, canceled, or requiring a reboot—without needing special software or administrator tools.

Step 1: Open Event Viewer

1. Press Windows Key + S to open the search bar.
2. Type Event Viewer and select it from the search results.

Step 2: Navigate to the Update Logs

1. In the Event Viewer window, expand Windows Logs in the left-hand panel.
2. Click on System to view system-level logs.

Tip: You can sort logs by clicking the Source column header, or use the built-in search functionality to navigate large log files more easily.

Step 3: Filter for Update Events

1. In the Actions panel on the right side, click Filter Current Log.
2. In the filter dialog box, set Event Sources to WindowsUpdateClient.

3. Optionally, enter one or more of the following Event IDs to narrow your results:

   • 19 — Installation successful
   • 20 — Installation failed
   • 21 — Updates canceled
   • 30 — Reboot required
4. Click OK to apply the filter.

Step 4: Review the Update Events

1. Look through the filtered results to find events related to your updates.
2. Double-click any event to open its details, which include the update name, status, and timestamps.

Step 5: Clear or Export Logs (Optional)

1. To remove old entries and declutter Event Viewer, right-click the System log and choose Clear Log. Only do this if you no longer need the information.
2. To keep a record, choose Save All Events As to archive the logs for future reference.

A Few Things to Keep in Mind

• The Windows Update Service must be running for recent update logs to appear in Event Viewer.
• PowerShell or other command-line tools can be used for more advanced log queries if needed.
• Event Viewer also captures logs for other issues, such as hardware or application failures, making it a useful general troubleshooting tool.

Need Help?

If you are unable to find your update logs or need assistance interpreting the results, contact the ACS support team and we will be glad to help.

This guide is for small-business employees whose organization has an existing Microsoft Exchange Online mailbox that is being used to represent a physical room or shared space. Converting that mailbox to a Room Resource mailbox removes user-account licensing restrictions and enables the mailbox to appear as a bookable resource in your calendar so that anyone scheduling a meeting can search for it and check its availability.

What Is a Room Resource Mailbox?

A Room Resource mailbox is a special mailbox type in Exchange Online designed to represent a physical location such as a conference room. By default, it automatically accepts or declines calendar invites sent to it. It also becomes searchable in your calendar application as a resource, allowing attendees to check room availability before sending a meeting request.

Why Convert an Existing Mailbox Instead of Creating a New One?

Room Resource mailboxes are typically created fresh when a need arises. However, some organizations already have standard user mailboxes set up for the same purpose. Converting those existing mailboxes to the Room Resource type allows you to:

• Avoid the licensing costs associated with standard user accounts.
• Ensure the mailbox operates correctly as a calendar resource.

Steps to Request This Conversion

1. Identify the existing mailbox that needs to be converted to a Room Resource mailbox.
2. Confirm that the mailbox is intended to represent a physical room or bookable space, not an individual user.
3. Contact your IT support team to submit a request for the conversion, providing the name and email address of the mailbox to be converted.
4. Once converted, verify that the room appears as a searchable resource in your calendar application and that calendar invites sent to it are actioned automatically.

Need Help?

If you are a managed IT client and need assistance converting a mailbox to a Room Resource in Exchange Online, reach out to the support team at Advanced Computer Solutions.

Run the Troubleshooter on Windows 10 and Windows 11

1. Open Settings: Press Win + I on your keyboard to open the Settings app. Alternatively, click the Start Menu and select Settings.
2. Navigate to Troubleshoot: Inside Settings, go to System > Troubleshoot, then click Other troubleshooters.
3. Run the Troubleshooter: Under the Most frequent section, locate Windows Update and click Run.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions: The troubleshooter will scan for issues and suggest fixes. Apply the recommended solution, then check whether the problem is resolved.

Run the Troubleshooter on Older Versions (Windows 7 and 8.1)

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Navigate to Troubleshooting > Fix problems with Windows Update.
3. Click Next to run the troubleshooter and follow the steps provided.

Additional Tips

• Restart your computer after applying any fixes to make sure changes take effect.
• Run the troubleshooter with administrative privileges for the best results.
• If the problem continues after running the troubleshooter, consider resetting Windows Update components manually or reaching out for further assistance.

Still having trouble? Contact the ACS support team for help.

This guide is for any Office 365 user or administrator who needs to recover lost or deleted emails, folders, or an entire mailbox. Spanning Email Backup lets you restore items from a previous backup snapshot quickly, whether you need a single message or everything in a mailbox.

Before You Begin

You will need access to your organization’s Spanning Backup for Office 365 account. Each user’s mailbox must be restored individually — there is no option to restore all mailboxes in a single operation. If you are unsure whether you have the necessary access, contact your IT administrator.

Steps to Restore Emails

1. Log in to Spanning Backup. Access your Spanning Backup for Office 365 account through the app link provided by your administrator in your application portal.
2. Navigate to the user’s backup. Click the Users tab in the left-hand navigation menu, then click the user’s name to expand their information panel.
3. View backup snapshots. Click View Backups in the drop-down information panel. The Mail tab will be selected by default. Choose the backup snapshot date from which you want to restore.
4. Select the emails or folders to restore. Click a parent folder to automatically select all of its subfolders and emails, or manually select individual emails or folders.
5. Initiate the restore process. Click the desired action — Restore or Export — and complete any additional steps based on the restore type, such as choosing the destination location or the file export format.
6. Confirm and complete the restore. Click Restore to confirm the selected operation. You will receive an email notification once the restore is complete.

Important Notes

• Each user’s mailbox must be restored individually. You cannot restore mailboxes for all users in a single operation.
• If you need to restore emails to a different user’s account, select the appropriate destination during the restore process.

Need More Help?

If you run into trouble or need hands-on assistance, contact the ACS support team and we will be happy to help.

This issue affects Microsoft Excel users who find the Print button grayed out (dithered) inside the File > Print menu after completing a print job. This is a known Microsoft Excel bug with no permanent fix yet. Two temporary workarounds let you continue printing right away while you wait for Microsoft to release a patch.

Workaround 1: Use the Keyboard Shortcut

1. Instead of clicking the grayed-out Print button, press Ctrl + P on your keyboard.
2. The Print menu will open normally.
3. Complete your print job as usual.

Workaround 2: Switch Printers to Re-enable the Button

1. Open File > Print in Excel.
2. Click the printer selector and choose a different printer from the list.
3. Switch back to your original printer.
4. The Print button should now be active again and ready to use.

Important Notes

These workarounds provide temporary relief but do not resolve the underlying problem. Check for Microsoft Excel updates regularly, as a future patch may correct this behavior permanently. If the issue persists or disrupts your work, contact ACS for assistance.

This article is for small-business employees whose Adobe Print to PDF printer creates a text log file instead of a PDF. The log typically contains messages such as “Error: invalidfont” and “No PDF file produced.” This can happen from any application that uses Print to PDF and is often triggered by fonts that Adobe Acrobat does not recognize—such as Aptos. The fix is to adjust a single font-handling setting inside the Adobe PDF printer’s properties.

Why This Matters

Print to PDF is a commonly used feature across many applications. When this error occurs, it can prevent the file from being saved as a PDF entirely—even though the log suggests the printer tried to substitute another font. Correcting the setting below restores normal PDF creation.

How to Fix the Adobe Print to PDF invalidfont Error

1. Open Printers & Scanners on your computer.
2. Select and open the Adobe PDF printer.
3. Open Printer Properties.
4. Click the Adobe PDF Settings tab.
5. Uncheck Rely On System Fonts Only; Do Not Use Document Fonts.

6. Click Apply.

   • If this option was already unchecked when you arrived: check it first, click Apply, then uncheck it again and click Apply. This resets the setting.
7. Restart any application you were trying to print a PDF from.
8. Test Print to PDF to confirm a PDF file is now created successfully.

Still Need Help?

If the steps above do not resolve the issue, contact the ACS support team for further assistance.

If your computers have been showing a black screen or crashing after a recent Windows update, there is a fix out now. Microsoft pushed a patch for a Windows 11 bug that was causing Explorer to crash and leaving people staring at a black screen.

An Update Broke It, Another Update Fixed It

This is exactly the kind of thing that shows up and makes people nervous about keeping their computers updated. A security update introduced a bug, and now there is an update to fix the update. That is just how this works sometimes.

And I know that feels frustrating. But the answer is not to stop updating. Security updates have to keep coming, even when they occasionally introduce a problem like this. Falling behind on updates creates a much bigger risk than a temporary bug.

Stay Current, Even When It Is Annoying

We track this stuff so our clients do not have to worry about it. When a bug like this surfaces, we know about it. When the fix drops, we push it. That is the whole point.

If you are managing your own machines, make sure Windows Update is running and that this latest patch gets installed. Do not let it sit.

Questions about how this affects your setup? Schedule a free IT consultation and we’ll walk through it with you.

Wherever your team is based, ACS provides hands-on managed IT support — see how we help businesses in Central Florida.

Microsoft just took down a major phishing tool marketplace that was supplying criminals with kits to target US businesses. That is good news. One less big operation out there means slightly safer inboxes for all of us.

But I want to be honest with you: something like this gets replaced fast. Phishing kits are the kind of thing that AI is just going to make easier to spin up anyway. So while I appreciate Microsoft going after these people, I would not relax your guard based on this alone.

The Threat These Tools Were Built to Exploit

These kits were designed to target Microsoft 365, the same platform most of you are running right now. The way this attack works is not complicated. You get an email that looks like it came from your boss, or a colleague, or a vendor. It says something like, hey, change where you’re sending that payment. And because it looks like it came from inside your own system, people trust it.

One US investment firm lost $1.5 million from a single email. One wire transfer. Gone. And these are people who should absolutely know better. If it can happen to them, it can happen to a 10-person service business or a small manufacturer who is just trying to get through the week.

The Real Problem Is Default Settings and Untrained People

A lot of small businesses are running Microsoft 365 with the default security settings, and the defaults are not good enough. That is not Microsoft shaming, that is just reality. The platform has the tools. Most people just never turn them on.

And then there is the human side. This is not purely a technical problem. Your team has to know what a phishing email looks like. They have to know that if something feels off about a payment request or a change in instructions, they pick up the phone and verify it in person. Do not trust an email. Do not even trust a camera, because those can be faked too.

What to Actually Do About This

Start here, right now, before anything else:

• Turn on multi-factor authentication for every Microsoft 365 account in your business. If you do not have that on, you are at serious risk. Full stop.
• Talk to your IT provider about whether your 365 environment is configured correctly. There are settings outside the Microsoft defaults that make a real difference.
• Train your team to recognize phishing emails. This does not have to be complicated, but it has to happen.
• If you are in financial services or any regulated industry, some of this is not optional. There are standards you are required to meet, and ignoring them creates legal exposure on top of the financial risk.

You are not going to be perfect. Nobody is. Because it is a human problem as much as a technical one. But getting the basics right closes the door on a lot of these attacks before they ever get close to your bank account.

Questions about how this affects your setup? Schedule a free IT consultation and we’ll walk through it with you.

Wherever your team is based, ACS provides hands-on managed IT support — see how we help businesses in Central Florida.

A US investment firm just lost $1.5 million because of a phishing scam that ran through Microsoft 365. And honestly, the fact that it was an investment firm makes it worse. Those people should know way better than to let this happen.

But here is the part that matters for you: the platform involved is the same one that most of you are using right now. Every day. To run your business.

How This Actually Works

The attackers got into the Microsoft 365 email environment and manipulated communications to redirect a payment. That is it. They did not need to blow through some sophisticated firewall. They just changed where the money was supposed to go.

This technique works precisely because people trust email that looks like it came from inside their own company. You get a message that looks like it came from your boss, or a colleague, saying hey, change this payment, send it here instead of there. And people do it.

If you get an email like that, get up and walk down the hall. Talk to that person face to face. And do not think a video call makes it safe, because they can fake that too.

The Settings Problem Nobody Talks About

Something I see constantly: most small businesses are running Microsoft 365 with minimal security settings. The defaults are not enough. They were never enough.

At Advanced Computer Solutions, we configure 365 correctly from the start, and we have staff training available on top of that. If you are in financial services, you are probably legally required to have some of this in place. I know nobody wants to hear that, but the regulations exist for a reason.

One email caused a million and a half dollars in damage. That is not a technology problem alone. It is a human problem. The technical settings reduce your exposure, but your team still has to know what to look for.

What to Do Right Now

Start here, in this order:

• Turn on multi-factor authentication for every Microsoft 365 account. If you do not have MFA turned on, you are at serious risk. Full stop.
• Train your team to recognize phishing emails. Can they spot a fake? Do they know what to do when something looks off? If you are not sure, that is your answer.
• Talk to your IT provider about your 365 configuration. Ask them specifically what security settings are enabled and what tools they have to check your exposure.

You are not going to be perfect. This is a human problem as much as a technical one. But there is no excuse for skipping the basics when one wire transfer can cost you everything.

Questions about how this affects your setup? Schedule a free IT consultation and we’ll walk through it with you.

Wherever your team is based, ACS provides hands-on managed IT support — see how we help businesses in Traverse City & Northern Michigan.