WServerNews: Bandaging Windows

In this week’s newsletter

Focus on patching Windows and applications. Recommended patch management tools. Patching Zoom. Optimizing Windows 10 update adoption. Debunking AI hype. Billig-Lizenzen. COVID Corner – An optimistic view of the future. Plus lots more — read it all, read it here on WServerNews!

Enjoy this week’s newsletter and feel free to send us feedback on any of the topics we’ve covered — we love hearing from our readers!

 

Got questions? Ask our readers!

WServerNews goes out each week to more than 200,000 IT pro subscribers worldwide! That’s a lot of expertise to tap into. Do you need help with some technical problem or are looking for expert advice on something IT-related? Ask Our Readers by emailing your problems and/or questions to us at [email protected]

 

Editor’s Corner

This week’s observations and ruminations from Mitch Tulloch our Senior Editor…

Focus on patching Windows and applications

Who ever thought when we joined our IT profession that we’d end up being health care workers? I’m referring of course to the job of applying patches to fix Windows when it breaks and to prevent infection from viruses (the digital kind) and other forms of nasties out there. Patch management takes up a big chunk of time for most of us who administer Windows-based infrastructures, so this week’s issue of WServerNews shines a spotlight on this topic to help readers keep their servers and PCs healthy and humming right along.

Let’s begin.

Recommended patch management tools

To start off if you’re frustrated by the limitations of WSUS and/or confused by SCCM it’s good to know that there are lots of other good patch management tools out there you can check out, some good for large enterprises and others perfect for home offices. Here are the ones that our colleagues most often recommend, listed in no particular order:

Ivanti Patch for SCCM – https://www.ivanti.com/products/patch-management-for-sccm

HCL Bigfix – https://www.hcltechsw.com/products/bigfix

PDQ Deploy – https://www.pdq.com/pdq-deploy/

BatchPatch – https://batchpatch.com/

Quest KACE – https://www.quest.com/kace/

PatchMyPC – https://patchmypc.com/

SUMo Software Update Monitor – https://www.kcsoftwares.com/?sumo

Ninite – https://ninite.com/

If I had to pick a favorite from this list it would probably be PDQ Deploy used together with PDQ Inventory. Many of my IT pro colleagues testify that this solution has made their lives a whole lot easier.

What’s your favorite patching product or solution? What are you currently using at your workplace? Share your expertise with our readers by sending your feedback to us at [email protected]

Patching Zoom

A sudden and big concern at many IT shops recently is how to keep Zoom patched properly since everyone and his dog is now using it for remote work. I asked around a bit about whether any third-party patching solutions support keeping Zoom updated, and one colleague told me that Ivanti can now detect and patch both the Zoom Client and the Zoom Outlook Plugin. See the last item on this page for info:

https://www.ivanti.com/support/supported-products

I’m sure other patching products also can be used to update Zoom but I haven’t looked further at this. What are our readers using to patch Zoom on employee machines? Email us at [email protected]

Optimizing Windows 10 update adoption

Microsoft has published a whitepaper that describes various ways of deploying and effectively using WSUS and Windows Update for Business in corporate environments. It’s worth a read if you’re using either of these platforms. Here’s the download link:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=101056

Debunking AI hype

And finally, I’ve often believed that the current hype surrounding AI happening everywhere is not because we’ve finally figured out how to make machines that “think” but simply because devices now have so much processing power that even dumb old multivariable nonlinear curve fitting with various optimizations can be done so very fast that it almost seems these devices are now “intelligent” — whatever that means.

Anyways, I was glad this week to stumble across this article on the website of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) that pretty much confirms what I’ve believed about this subject:

Eye-catching advances in some AI fields are not real (ScienceMag.org)

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/05/eye-catching-advances-some-ai-fields-are-not-real

What do readers think about AI and the current hype surrounding this subject? Email me at [email protected]

Got more thoughts about anything in this newsletter?

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Tip of the Week

>> Got any IT pro tips you’d like to share with other readers of our newsletter? Email us at [email protected]

Cheap licensing

Licensing is always a complex subject when it comes to doing IT right, and in the past Microsoft has sometimes been particular obtuse about certain aspects of licensing their products and cloud services. “Is it really legal” is a question that’s important for companies to answer when it comes to deploying new software and services, and if you can read German you might find the series of blog posts by Günter Born interesting and useful to read. Start reading here with his most recent post and search backwards for earlier installments in his series on the perils of ‘Billig-Lizenzen’:

https://www.borncity.com/blog/2019/10/17/microsoft-klagt-gegen-lizengo-wegen-billig-lizenzen-teil-9/

 

Admin Toolbox

>> Got any admin tools or software you’d like to recommend to our readers? Email us at [email protected]

Visual Studio Code is a lightweight but powerful source code editor which runs on your desktop and is available for Windows, macOS and Linux:

https://code.visualstudio.com/

DISKSPD is a storage load generator / performance test tool that replaces SQLIO:

https://github.com/Microsoft/diskspd

This Script allow reset the Windows Update Agent resolving issues with Windows Update:

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/scriptcenter/Reset-Windows-Update-Agent-d824badc

 

Mailbag

Last week’s newsletter focused on Linux for a change, though it did start off with a look at what Microsoft is doing in this arena. At the end of Editor’s Corner we asked readers whether they would like to see more Linux-focused articles in our newsletter, and Michael Schindall who is a Technical Support Engineer at Philips responded with:

Hi, this Linux article was very useful resource. Additional articles going forward would be good, but my focus will continue to be Windows for the next several years. Keep up the great content.

Thanks! While our primary focus will always be Microsoft Windows and Windows Server (with a growing emphasis on Microsoft Azure and the cloud naturally) we’ll likely follow Microsoft’s own lead in this area by dipping our toes into the Linux world from time to time, especially since Microsoft seems to have big ambitions in this area.

 

COVID Corner – An optimistic view of the future

Last week in COVID Corner we referenced a Der Spiegel article that compares the current situation with the oil crisis of the 1970s. I speculated on whether the current situation could generate the same kind of social dissatisfaction that European youth experienced in the 80s due to the economic impact of the 70s oil crisis. Angelika from Malta took this question up and commented as follows:

Dear Mitch, in reference to the question asked in COVID Corner – Will it be like the 80s again? I would like to present the situation of many young people in Europe. Due to the closing of schools and the cancellation of final exams, young people who were going to university or academies were in a very unfavorable position. The submission of this application to the university must be preceded by a final examination. Also, additional documents are required. Unfortunately, offices were closed due to Covid. Unknown results from the final exam prevented you from submitting your application. Depending on the local and state authorities, students were allowed to apply to the university without passing the exam. However, this causes additional stress. And also allows you to apply, although the result of the exam is unknown. Getting a summer job in tourism or gastronomy, which usually fed the budget of students, is completely impossible due to the closing of all bars, restaurants, and hotels. Covid19 will certainly have a major impact on economic development. It’s also harder to start a new job. Companies are trying to function properly, but they are not willing to hire new employees. However, I would like to underline that the world in the ’80s did not know the Internet and the possibilities associated with it.

Most problems can now be solved with the help of modern internet platforms or via phone.

Certainly, the unexpected spread of the virus meant that the world did not look the same anymore. At the same time, we quickly improved the remote work process, new programs were created. So we have more opportunities than young people in the ’80s.

I remain optimistic about the future.

However, I am preparing for hard work so that the world will return to ‘normal’.

Amen. I’m hoping too that the situation in most countries will soon return to normal e.g. with restaurants crowded and dance floors swinging and sports stadiums packed and downtown offices filled with office workers again.

And I expect in most countries this will be the case again soon. By soon I mean about 6 months.

There will be exceptions of course, and in some sectors a “new normal” may be displayed for a period. But people are people — we’re social animals not avatars living in a digital universe socializing with Zoom. Sure, some geeks love this kind of isolation. And kids will be kids and be glued to their cellphones. But real life goes on, right?

Anyone else want to weigh in on this? Email me at [email protected]

 

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Conference calendar

NOTE: Because of the concerns surrounding the COVID-19 situation some of these conferences may be moved online or even cancelled. Please check the conference websites for the latest updates.

>> Got an IT conference or event happening that you’d like to promote in our newsletter? Email us at [email protected]

Microsoft Inspire

July 20-24, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada

https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/inspire

 

Cyber Security Summits

For dates and locations see https://cybersummitusa.com/summits/

 

Other conferences

RSA Conference Asia Pacific & Japan – July 14-16 in Singapore

https://www.rsaconference.com/apj

VMworld – Aug 30 – Sept 3 in San Francisco

https://www.vmworld.com/en/us/index.html

Interop – Sept 21-24 in Austin, Texas

https://www.interop.com/

European SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure Conference (ESPC20) – Nov 9-12, 2020 in Amsterdam

https://www.sharepointeurope.com/

DevOpsCon – Nov 30 – Dec 3 in Munich, Germany

https://devopscon.io/munich/

 

Podcast Corner

Cybersecurity During the Pandemic with Ann Johnson (RunAsRadio)

http://runasradio.com/

How Does an Antenna Work? (Clear To Send)

https://www.cleartosend.net/

A better way to provision access to production environments (Risky Business)

https://risky.biz/netcasts/risky-business/

JSON All The Things! (Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast)

https://www.msclouditpropodcast.com/

Feedback with a Purpose (Windows Insider)

https://insider.windows.com/en-us/podcasts/

 

New on Techgenix.com

Microsoft 365 administration: More on configuring Microsoft Teams

Our Microsoft 365 administration series continues with more on configuring Microsoft Teams. In this article, we look at policy packages, security, and more.

https://techgenix.com/more-on-configuring-microsoft-teams/

Review: Powerful and secure faxing solution GFI FaxMaker

GFI FaxMaker is a powerful and complete solution that should meet the requirements of every organization in terms of faxing. Here’s our review.

https://techgenix.com/review-gfi-faxmaker/

Network appliances: A third way when servers and cloud just won’t cut it

If the cloud doesn’t seem right and buying a server costs too much, maybe network appliances can help small businesses fulfill their IT needs.

https://techgenix.com/network-appliances/

Review: IT ecosystem monitoring solution NetCrunch 10.6

You need to monitor your IT infrastructure to avoid disasters. NetCrunch 10.6 is a monitoring solution for your entire IT ecosystem. Here’s our review.

https://techgenix.com/monitoring-solution-netcrunch-10-6/

Improvements on the verify domain error in Office 365

The verify domain error when registering the same domain in Office 365 to a different tenant now contains useful information that can save you time.

https://techgenix.com/verify-domain-error-office-365/

 

Fun videos from Flixxy

People are Awesome – Best of the Week #83

People Are Awesome’s latest compilation, featuring the very best video submissions this week!

https://www.flixxy.com/people-are-awesome-best-of-the-week-83.htm

The Most Beautiful Bird Song – Nightingale Singing At Sunrise

Nightingales have an astonishingly rich repertoire, able to produce over 1000 different sounds

https://www.flixxy.com/the-most-beautiful-bird-song-nightingale-singing-at-sunrise.htm

‘Footloose’ – Dancing In The Movies

Movie stars dancing to th song ‘Footloose’ by Kenny Loggins.

https://www.flixxy.com/footloose-dancing-in-the-movies.htm

Parrots Enjoy Dancing To Music

Parrots like to dance – moving their body in a rhythmic way, expressing emotion, releasing energy, and having fun.

https://www.flixxy.com/parrots-enjoy-dancing-to-music.htm

 

More articles of interest

It’s time to dismiss these 7 DevOps collaboration myths

DevOps is taking root in IT organizations across the globe — but that doesn’t mean it’s well understood. Misconceptions persist, but they can be conquered.

https://searchitoperations.techtarget.com/tip/Its-time-to-dismiss-these-7-DevOps-collaboration-myths?Offer=Content_Partner_OTHR-_2020May29_TG_A5

VMs vs. containers: What Windows admins need to know

VMs have high resource overhead, but they’re dependable. Containers can scale dramatically, but they require a different mode of management. Which is right for your workloads?

https://searchwindowsserver.techtarget.com/tip/VMs-vs-containers-What-Windows-admins-need-to-know?Offer=Content_Partner_OTHR-_2020May29_TG_A6

How to fix 8 common remote desktop connection problems

When the connection between a desktop and its host fails, it’s time to do some remote desktop troubleshooting. Check firewalls, security certificates and more if a remote desktop is not working.

https://searchvirtualdesktop.techtarget.com/tip/Top-5-remote-desktop-connectivity-problems-and-how-to-prevent-them?Offer=Content_Partner_OTHR-_2020May29_TG_A7

DRaaS market faces multiple challenges in 2020

Difficult times are creating a strong DRaaS market, yet providers must still deal with many critical issues over the next several months, such as supporting growing customer base.

https://searchdisasterrecovery.techtarget.com/feature/DRaaS-market-faces-multiple-challenges-in-2020?Offer=Content_Partner_OTHR-_2020May29_TG_A8

 

Send us your feedback!

Got feedback about anything in this issue of WServerNews? Email us at [email protected]

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