Introduction

In this article, you will explore how xFanatical Foresight helps in apps reporting and getting alerts for unusual apps usages in Google Workspace. Monitoring unusual app usage in Google Workspace is essential for ensuring data security, compliance, and operational efficiency. Organizations often face challenges such as unauthorized access, compromised accounts, and policy violations, which can be detected through Google Workspace Apps Reporting. Suspicious activities like allowing less secure apps or excessive data transfers can indicate security threats, making real-time monitoring crucial. Admins can control access to less secure apps in Google Workspace, but without proper monitoring, detecting unusual activity remains a challenge.

One significant concern is excessive email sending, which may signal a compromised account or misuse of company resources. However, manually reviewing Google Workspace Apps Reports can be time-consuming and ineffective due to data collection delays. Without an automated system, administrators may struggle to respond quickly to security threats.

xFanatical Foresight Automation offers a powerful solution to get alerts for Google Workspace apps and monitor unusual activities effortlessly. By automating Google Workspace Apps Reporting, administrators receive timely alerts when app usage exceeds predefined thresholds. This proactive approach enhances security, ensures compliance, and streamlines IT management eliminating the need for manual monitoring while safeguarding sensitive data.

Illustration of automated apps reporting and getting alerts for unusual apps usages in Google Workspace with xFanatical Foresight
Illustration of automated apps reporting and getting alerts for unusual apps usages in Google Workspace with xFanatical Foresight

Next, we’ll demonstrate how xFanatical Foresight can report and alert for unusual apps usages in Google Workspace, helping to enhance security of your organization.

Introducing xFanatical Foresight Automation

xFanatical Foresight Automation is an advanced automation tool designed for Google Workspace administrators and users to simplify app management and security monitoring. It offers automated reporting and alert systems, enabling admins to efficiently track app usage, detect unusual activities, and ensure compliance. Whether managing a small team or a large organization, xFanatical Foresight provides the necessary insights to maintain a secure and well organized digital environment.

Automation Setup Instructions

In this section, we guide you through the automation setup in xFanatical Foresight. We have 2 ways to set up automation rules, Set up automation from a template and Set up automation from scratch. After completing the automation rule, verify whether the automation meets your requirements.

To make the alert system more effective, it’s important to include in the alert notifications key details such as the type of unusual app activity (e.g. excessive email sending, allowing less secure apps etc), the threshold for triggering alerts, and clear instructions on how to investigate or take action. This ensures that administrators can quickly respond to potential security threats, ensuring that sensitive data and company resources are protected.

Set Up Automation From a Template

Set Up Automation From a Template

Supported plans: xFanatical Foresight Elite plan.

  1. Sign into xFanatical Foresight with your Google Admin account. 
  2. Go to the Templates page.
  3. Search for Get alerts for unusual apps usage template and click on it.
    The get alerts for unusual apps usage template card in xFanatical Foresight
  4. In the Templates > Get alerts for unusual apps usage page, click the Copy rule.
    Click copy rule button from get alerts for unusual apps usage template details page in xFanatical Foresight
  5. For the first time use of the template rule, an dialog Action needed will display requesting necessary permissions required to copy the rule. Click Connect with Google and authorize the permissions.
  6. Upon authorization, a dialog titled Copy of Get alerts for unusual apps usage will display.
  7. In the Edit trigger > Recurring times screen,
    The recurring times edit trigger screen to update start time in xFanatical Foresight
    1. In Start time, select the future time when to start app usage reporting and get alerts.
    2. Click If action from the rule graph.
  8. In the Edit actions > If screen,
    The IF edit actions screen to update sent email count threshold value in xFanatical Foresight
    1. Change the value of Sent Email Count condition to update the email sent threshold as per your requirement.
    2. Click Email from the rule graph.
  9. In the Edit actions > Email screen,
    The email edit actions screen to customize subject and email body content in xFanatical Foresight
    1. In Subject, customize the apps reporting and alert notification subject.
    2. In the Email body, customize the content to include relevant apps usage information.
    3. At the bottom of the page, click Review.
  10. In the Review screen,
    The rule review screen to update rule name in xFanatical Foresight
    1. In Rule name, customize the automation rule name.
    2. Click Create.
  11. The rule is created in the Rules page.
    The workflow diagram in xFanatical Foresight for automating apps reporting and getting alerts in Google Workspace
    xFanatical Foresight workflow diagram for apps reporting and getting alerts in Google Workspace
Set Up Automation From Scratch

Set Up Automation From Scratch

Supported plans: xFanatical Foresight Elite and Professional (Legacy).

  1. Sign into xFanatical Foresight with your Google Admin account. 
  2. Go to the Rules page. 
  3. Click the New Rule The New Rule button in xFanatical Foresight button.
  4. In the Select a trigger screen, select Recurring times trigger.
    The recurring times trigger to create get unusual apps report automation in xFanatical Foresight
  5. In the Edit trigger > Recurring times screen,
    The recurring times edit trigger screen to set time for getting unusual apps report in xFanatical Foresight
    1. In Start time, select the future date and time to begin sending app usage reports and get alerts using datetime picker.
    2. In Repeat Every, set it to 1 day.
    3. Click Next.
  6. On the Select an action screen, select Convert date action.
    The convert date action to create get unusual apps report automation in xFanatical Foresight
  7. In the Edit actions > Convert date screen,
    The convert date edit actions screen to generate report date variable in xFanatical Foresight
    1. In Source date, select Current Date option.
    2. In Date change steps, update it to Subtract => 4 => Days.
    3. In the Variable name, enter Report Date.
    4. Click Add next action.
  8. On the Select an action screen, select Get apps report action.
    The get apps report action to create get unusual apps report automation in xFanatical Foresight
  9. In the Edit actions > Get apps report screen,
    The get apps report edit actions screen to retrieve apps report of your organization in xFanatical Foresight
    1. For the first time use of the trigger, click Sign in with Google to grant xFanatical Foresight necessary permissions to automate on behalf of your Google account.
    2. In the Date field, click variable button 2 and select Report Date.
    3. Click Add next action.
  10. On the Select an action screen, select If action.
    The IF action to create get unusual apps report automation in xFanatical Foresight
  11. In the Edit actions > If screen,
    The IF action edit actions screen to set alert conditions for unusual apps reporting in xFanatical Foresight1
    1. Update the Branch 1 name to Excessive Email Sent.
    2. In If condition,
      1. Select Sent Email Count from dropdown list.
      2. Select is greater than.
      3. Enter 50, to set the email send threshold.
    3. Click Add next action.
  12. On the Select an action screen, select Email action.
    Select Email action on select an action screen.
  13. In the Edit actions > Email screen,
    The email edit actions screen to send unusual apps reporting email to Gmail inbox in xFanatical Foresight
    The email edit actions screen to send unusual apps reporting email to Gmail inbox in xFanatical Foresight
    1. For the first time use of the action, click Sign in with Google to grant xFanatical Foresight necessary permissions to automate on behalf of your Google account.
    2. In To, select My email or enter another recipient email address.
    3. In Subject, provide the subject of apps reporting alerts.
    4. In the Email body, enter the email content. To personalize the email template with variables, click variable button 2 to add a variable, e.g. Apps Report Date, Gmail Storage Used to share apps report etc.
    5. Click Review.
  14. In the Review screen,
    The rule review screen to enter automation name in xFanatical Foresight
    1. In Rule name, enter a rule name.
    2. At last click Create.
  15. The automation rule is created.
Verify Automation

Verify Automation

To ensure that your rule setup functions correctly, it’s crucial to perform a simple test. The steps outlined below demonstrate how xFanatical Foresight automates the process of generating unusual apps reports and sending alerts in Google Workspace.

Note: For demonstration purposes, please set the Start time field in the Recurring times trigger to 15 minutes from now.

  1. Sign into xFanatical Foresight with your Google Admin account. 
  2. Wait until the configured trigger time, you will receive a notification in the top right of xFanatical Foresight. In the notification message, click View log.
    The in-app notification for copy of get alerts for unusual apps usage automation in xFanatical Foresight
  3. In the Logs > Log details page, the Rule history section explains the automation history and task xFanatical Foresight has automated on behalf of your Google account. 
    The copy of get alerts for unusual apps usage rule automation history in xFanatical Foresight, including the automation data, trigger event and action history.
  4. Additionally, you will receive an email in your Gmail inbox with the information added to the email body during the rule setup.
    The received automated personalized excessive email sent alert email in Gmail sent by xFanatical Foresight

Notes

  • Once the automation rule is set up, xFanatical Foresight will seamlessly manage app usage reporting and notify you via email in your Gmail inbox if the set condition met. No manual effort is needed. xFanatical Foresight eliminates the time-consuming task of manually monitoring and managing app usage.
  • Both rule setup allow customization of the email subject and body. Utilize variables to personalize the email content with relevant apps report information.
  • Due to Google's app usage log data collection latency, the automation can only notify administrators with a delay. Real-time alerts are not supported by this automation.
  • The rule will automatically run daily from the configured start time. To receive reports just once a week, simply adjust the "Repeat every" setting in the Recurring times trigger.
  • This automation runs daily, but an email will only be sent if the specified conditions in the If action are met.
  • This automation does not detect all types of unusual app usage. It is specifically designed to monitor a particular activity, email volume within a specified time frame.
  • This automation serves as a starting point, showing how to set up alert notifications for a specific use case. However, you can customize the configuration to handle various scenarios by adding multiple branches in If action for different cases.
  • At each time a rule is executed, you will receive a notification in the app telling you how it has happened to your rules and whether rules ran successfully or not.

Conclusion

Monitoring unusual app usage in Google Workspace is essential for maintaining the security and compliance of your digital environment. By leveraging xFanatical Foresight Automation, organizations can easily track suspicious activities reducing the risk of security breaches and policy violations. With automated alerts and detailed Google Workspace Apps Reporting, administrators can act quickly to mitigate risks, ensure smooth operations, and maintain a secure workspace. This automation not only saves valuable time but also enhances the overall efficiency of managing Google Workspace apps.

If you have yet to install xFanatical Foresight, check out this quick start.

Try a 14-day free trial with xFanatical Foresight and manage your tasks.

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