Follow this step-by-step guide to complete the main configurations that will allow you to start using the platform for awareness campaigns.
Access to the platform
Once you have acquired the platform, you will receive a notification email with the instance URL. Access the platform using that link to create your own credentials, and you will be logged in as an administrator user, where you can view all the platform’s configuration and management options.
First Steps
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Difficulty Level = Low Requires client specialist technicians = No |
Log in to the platform as an administrator to view all configuration options. We will add a title to the instance and upload the organization's data.
Title
In the Settings > Organization > Title section, choose Use customized title and select the + symbol preceding the language flag to add the desired title.
Click the Save button.
The saved title will be visible in the login window.
Organization Data
In the Settings > Organization > Organization Data section, add the organization's name and logo. The organization's logo will replace SMARTFENSE's logo in all views for end users, not administrative users.
Upload organizational variables in desired languages. These variables will be used in certain predefined contents or in creating custom content from our content editor.
Welcome Notification
The welcome notification is configured from the Settings > Notifications > Welcome section. It contains the necessary information for a user to log in for the first time to the SMARTFENSE platform and is sent via email.
The welcome notification can be sent to all end users assigned to a campaign who have not previously received this notification, or it can be sent to those end users assigned to a campaign who have never logged in to the platform.
Administrative users will always receive a notification upon being created on the platform.
If you want to send the welcome notification, you can select the desired behavior and also define whether to send SMARTFENSE’s default notification, a customized one, or send it via Slack or Microsoft Teams.
Content Assignment Notifications
Assignment notifications are sent to end users when they are assigned to a campaign of Interactive Modules, Videos, Video Games, Exams, and Surveys. These notifications contain information about the assigned campaign and, most importantly, a link for the user to directly access the content in question.
In the Settings > Notifications > Assignments section, you can define whether to send an email from SMARTFENSE or a personalized one. If you are integrated with Slack or Microsoft Teams, you can choose this option to send content assignments to users. This configuration can be set for each contracted component that allows notification sending.
Reminders
Reminders are notifications that are automatically sent when a campaign reaches halfway through its duration and when there is one day left until its expiration. These notifications are sent to all users who have not yet completed their assigned campaigns. An individual notification is sent for each pending campaign. You can choose whether to send reminders or not. This configuration is done in the Settings > Notifications > Reminders section:
By selecting the Send Reminders option, you can define the frequency of sending them in number of days. For example: 3 days. If you create a campaign that starts on January 1st and the reminder sending frequency is 3, the first reminder will be on January 4th, the next on January 7th, and so on. You can choose to send a SMARTFENSE reminder or a personalized one via email. If you are integrated with Slack or Microsoft Teams, you can choose this option to send reminders to users.
When reminders are enabled, when scheduling a campaign, you can choose between using SMARTFENSE's predefined dates or custom dates/times for sending reminders.
User Import and Synchronization
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Difficulty Level = Low Requires client specialist technicians = Yes, to link Google or Microsoft Entra ID to SMARTFENSE |
There are different methods to import and synchronize users into SMARTFENSE. In the Users and Groups > Import and Synchronization section, you can choose the desired method.
You can refer to the following guides from our Help Center in the Users category:
Review the user import methods offered by SMARTFENSE in our Help Center, in the User and group management section.
If you need more help, you can watch our workshops conducted by our technical support team, with a practical exercise for each of the mentioned methods.
Importing users via CSV
Users and Groups in SMARTFENSE (First part: Microsoft Entra ID/Second part [from minute 36:25]: Google)
Note: To access the workshops, you need to provide your name, last name, and email address.
Own Mail Server Configuration
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Difficulty Level = Low Requires client specialist technicians = Yes, to provide mail server data |
SMARTFENSE allows you to configure the email server for sending campaign messages to users (welcome messages, content assignment notices, reminders), and other system notifications such as password reset requests.
Important: Phishing and Ransomware simulation emails are sent by default from SMARTFENSE servers to ensure that the reputation of your own servers is not affected.
To configure your own mail server, go to the Settings > Email Server section. There you can select the Own server option and click the Next button.
On the next screen, define whether authentication will be done Through password or Through OAuth 2.0 for Microsoft Exchange Online or Via OAuth 2.0 for Google.
Through password
Email server data
When using your own mail server, SMARTFENSE uses an email account from your own organization to send all relevant emails, except for those related to Phishing or Ransomware traps.
The configuration requires the following data:
Email server: enter the name of the email server, for example, server.domain.com
Port: it is the port through which SMARTFENSE will establish the connection
Encryption protocol: you can opt for the TLS or SSL protocol, although it allows the option of not configuring an encryption protocol. We recommend using one since many of the sent emails may contain private data.
Authentication data of the email account
Enter an email address or username and password that have permissions to log in to the mail server. If you wish, customize the FROM field.
Finally, it will be necessary to validate that there is a connection with the server and that the entered data is correct. Perform the testing by clicking the Check connectivity button.
Through OAuth 2.0 for Microsoft Exchange Online
Sending emails from SMARTFENSE using OAuth 2.0 is possible through a Microsoft Entra ID connection.
Configuration Data
If user import has been configured with Microsoft Entra ID, you can use this configuration by simply pressing the Use configured data in user import button. If you do not have this configuration, you will need to follow the setup instructions to obtain the required data.
Domain: points 3 and 4 of the setup guide
Application ID: points 6 and 7 of the setup guide
Application secret key: point 25 of the setup guide
Sender user UPN: UPN of the user that will be used as the sender of the emails
Once you have entered the requested data, you must test the connection by clicking the Check connectivity button.
You can define in the settings the maximum number of emails that can be sent per minute.
If you still need further assistance, you can watch our Own Email Server Configuration workshop.
Via OAuth 2.0 for Google.
Through a connection with Google, it is possible to send emails from SMARTFENSE using OAuth 2.0.
Configuration Data
To use this type of authentication, complete the relevant fields:
Email address of the Google Workspace account that will be used to configure the project.
JSON Private Key
Follow the setup guide.
Emails per minute: Allows you to set the maximum number of emails that the platform will send per minute.
Once the necessary configurations are set, save and verify.
If you still need more help, you can view our workshop on Configuración de servidor de correo propio.
End-User View Configuration
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Difficulty Level = Low Requires client specialist technicians = No |
The end-user view has a section for each contracted component, divided into subsections depending on whether they are assigned, completed, or available.
You can enable or disable this view for each component, with the possibility of showing active or customized content.
In the Settings > Awareness section, you can choose the desired component and within each one, you will have the End-User View option.
Example for Interactive Modules:
Note: Simulation components are not visible in the end-user view.
Once the desired components are enabled, the end-user will have a view of their dashboard as shown in the following images, with the sections:
Assigned contents
Available contents
Completed contents
If there are no assigned contents, this section will not be displayed until it happens.
Certificate Activation
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Difficulty Level = Low Requires client specialist technicians = No |
Certificates are awards that are automatically sent to users upon completing an Interactive Module.
In the Settings > Awareness > Interactive Modules > Certificates section, you can define whether users will receive a certificate when they finish an interactive module.
Select the Send Certificate option and click the Save button. You can send yourself a test to your email to see how users will view it. The email includes a PDF attachment with the certificate.
The certificate to be sent can be a SMARTFENSE certificate or a customized one. If you want to customize it, choose the Use customized certificate option to display the language flags in which you want to customize the certificate.
By entering the desired language, a content editor will be displayed allowing you to use the following variables:
Completion date
Content name
User data
Organization’s Data
After customizing the certificate, click the Save button. Remember that you can use the preview button or send yourself a test to see the final result.
First Real Campaign Scheduling
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Difficulty Level = Low Requires client specialist technicians = No |
Up to this point, we have completed the initial configurations and uploaded the users to the platform. You can verify everything with a test campaign, as described in our Deployment Manual for the SMARTFENSE platform. It is also important to verify that the Whitelist has been configured correctly so that notifications are properly delivered to users’ inboxes and our platform does not experience any navigation or content loading blocks.
Once this has been verified, we will proceed with sending our first real awareness campaign.
From the Campaigns > Calendar section, press the New campaign button and select the component to use. We will make the known configurations when scheduling the test campaign:
Campaign mode
Recipients
Topic
Planning
Campaign data: Important: here select Test Campaign: No
Derived action according to the selected component (exam). This action is optional.
Note: In this campaign, do not mark it as a test, and it must reach at least 50% of the users for a real measurement.
Once the campaign has started, you can analyze the users' behavior from the Audit - Campaign Detail.