In this issue
Kaizen and Windows 10. Gone in a Flash. Remove unwanted apps using PowerShell. Zune still lives somewhere, somehow. Conference calendar updated. Plus lots more — read it all, read it here on WServerNews!
Slowly but steadily Windows 10 is heading upwards in terms of security, reliability and productivity. Photo by Joshua Earle on Unsplash
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Editor’s Corner
This week’s observations and ruminations from Mitch Tulloch our Senior Editor…
Kaizen and Windows 10
While it’s popular nowadays to bash Windows 10 (and I’ve occasionally done this myself) the reality as far as us IT professionals go is that Windows 10 has been steadily getting better. The Japanese call this kaizen, a way of manufacturing that focuses on continuously creating small positive changes to a product or process. Toyota is an example of a company that has benefitted tremendously over the years by following this approach. And Microsoft seems to have adopted a similar approach to improving Windows 10. As evidence take a look at the following infographic that I found on the Microsoft Tech Community:
Windows 10 gets better with each update (PDF)
Looking at this infographic, it’s hard for us to deny that Windows 10 has made huge steps forward in several areas over the last five years. Especially in the area of security, which is of paramount importance to us all who manage IT in business environments. And manageability improvements have also been huge if you add Microsoft Intune into the mix.
Although it took many of us some time to get used to the frequent pace of new Windows 10 versions, once you abandon the old-style wipe-and-reimage PC provisioning model and just upgrade to new versions, you’re likely happy with the new capabilities introduced in each version. The one area where you’re probably still not happy (like me) is patching. I get the idea why Microsoft wants to ram software updates down the throats of consumes using Windows 10 Home, but many small businesses also use this SKU and find patching it frustrating to say the least. Just look at some of the stories on AskWoody.com complaining about how the patch can be worse than the attack, how flaky patches can affect some customers, how patches should be paused in case problems come up, and so on. Now sure, AskWoody.com is a site for consumers, not enterprises. But many small businesses also follow this site since they don’t have the human resources to be able to test patches before installing them. And I’ve written about this myself from time to time on our TechGenix website.
Why can’t Microsoft get their act together in this area? Do consumers really need that much hand-holding with patching their machines? And why keep changing the GUI for how upgrades and patches are scheduled or delayed? Each time I look at these settings I shake my head wondering what will happen if I toggle here or click there. And please — PLEASE — give me full control over when I can restart my machine to install a patch. Let me use my own intelligence for determining this, not some pie-in-the-sky AI being trying to manage me.
How about you? As an IT pro, are you happier now with Windows 10 than you were let’s say 2 years ago? Are there still some things you find annoying about it? Email me at [email protected]
Gone in a Flash
So Microsoft is pushing out KB4577568 to Windows 10 to users which supposedly permanently removes Adobe Flash Player from their systems. Specifically, the update removes the built-in version of Flash that comes pre-installed inbox in Windows. But is it really gone after you install the update? Here’s a way to check.
If the following files are *not* present in the C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash on your PC:
- vch
- ocx
- dll
- exe
Then Flash has been removed from your PC, even if the \Macromed\Flash folders are still there and other stuff is present in them. So I’m told, anyways. Some more useful information for administrators can be found in Microsoft MVP Harjit Dhaliwal’s blog post:
Adobe Flash End-of-Life and How To Uninstall
http://harjit.us/adobe-flash-end-of-life-and-how-to-uninstall/
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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]
Remove unwanted apps using PowerShell
We found this helpful tip on the blog of Patrick Gruenauer, a Microsoft MVP living in Austria. Here’s the link:
Windows 10: How to remove apps that can’t be removed via the Graphical User Interface (SID-500.com)
Admin Toolbox
>> Got any admin tools or software you’d like to recommend to our readers? Email us at [email protected]
Data Rescue is comprehensive and professional Hard drive recovery software that can recover your photos, videos, documents:
https://www.prosofteng.com/windows-data-recovery/
FileZilla is a FTP, FTPS and SFTP client:
https://filezilla-project.org/
NitroPDF is the best PDF Reader you’ll ever get:
https://www.gonitro.com/pdf-reader
Factoid – Zune still lives somewhere, somehow
Our previous factoid and question was this:
Fact: After 28 years the beloved Tucows Downloads site is being retired
Question: Where can Windows users still find good (and safe) shareware nowadays?
The best answer to our question was sent to us by Michael Hallsted:
Howdy Mitch, majorgeeks is the only place I go for freeware/shareware.
Huge selection for both pc’s and mac’s, and triple checked for malware.
They also have a very helpful forum.
A couple of readers also recommended Filehippo:
but Howard Rubin expressed caution concerning this site:
I have been using File Hippo for years, but you have to ignore all the attempts to get you to click on other nonsense.
Now let’s move on to this week’s factoid:
Fact: 10 Years After Its Discontinuation, Some Fans Still Love Microsoft’s Zune Mp3 Player
Question: Which piece of obsolete tech for work or entertainment do you still have strong affection for and/or still use and/or may have even tried to mod? Email your answers to [email protected]
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Conference Calendar 2021 – *UPDATED*
>> Got an IT conference or event happening that you’d like to promote in our newsletter? Email us at [email protected]
NOTE: Conference dates and locations (real/virtual) are subject to change
Microsoft Ignite — March 2-4 (virtual)
https://myignite.microsoft.com/home
Microsoft MVP Global Summit — March 29-31 (virtual)
https://mvp.microsoft.com/summit
Cisco Live Americas — Mar 30-Apr 1 (virtual)
Red Hat Summit — April 27-28 (virtual)
https://www.redhat.com/en/summit
Black Hat Asia — May 4-7 (virtual)
https://www.blackhat.com/upcoming.html#asia
RSA Conference — May 17-20 (virtual)
https://www.rsaconference.com/usa
European SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure Conference — June 1-2 (virtual)
https://www.sharepointeurope.com/
European Collaboration Summit — June 14-16 in Wiesbaden, Germany
https://www.collabsummit.eu/en/
Microsoft Inspire — July 14-15 (virtual)
https://partner.microsoft.com/en-US/inspire
Black Hat USA — Jul. 31-Aug. 3 in Las Vegas
https://www.blackhat.com/upcoming.html#usa
Open Source Summit — Aug. 4-6 in Vancouver, Canada
https://events.linuxfoundation.org/open-source-summit-north-america/
DEF CON 29 — Aug. 5-8 (location TBA)
European Cloud Summit — Sept. 27-29 in Frankfurt, Germany
https://www.cloudsummit.eu/en/
Open Source Summit — Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Dublin, Ireland
https://events.linuxfoundation.org/open-source-summit-europe/
VMworld — Oct 5-7 (virtual)
https://www.vmworld.com/en/index.html
Black Hat Europe – Nov 8-11 (virtual)
https://www.blackhat.com/upcoming.html#europe
Podcast Corner
Secrets Management in PowerShell with Sydney Smith (RunAsRadio)
Automating Documentation With Ansible, Genie, And Jinja2 (Heavy Networking)
https://packetpushers.net/series/weekly-show/
VMware 5G Teclo Cloud (Virtually Speaking)
https://www.vspeakingpodcast.com/
When Should You Do APoS? (Clear To Send)
A primer on Microsoft cloud security (Risky Business)
https://risky.biz/netcasts/risky-business/
There’s A New Azure Region In Town (Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast)
https://www.msclouditpropodcast.com/
Space, Teams and Old Edge Dying (Microsoft Cloud Show)
http://www.microsoftcloudshow.com/podcast
New on Techgenix.com
How to import users into Microsoft Active Directory
Looking to import users to Active Directory? There are several ways to get the job done, and here we offer you a few methods.
https://techgenix.com/import-users-into-active-directory/
Windows Server documentation: A lost art that can be a lifesaver
Older IT pros remember when Windows documentation was a must. But many organizations no longer consider it necessary. This may be a mistake.
https://techgenix.com/windows-server-documentation/
Switchovers and Failovers in Microsoft Exchange Server: An overview
Switchovers and failovers in Exchange protect ensure site resilience and high availability to avoid downtime. Sponsored by Stellar Data Recovery
https://techgenix.com/switchovers-failovers-in-exchange-server/
Microsoft 365 groups sprawl: Don’t let it disorganize your organization
Microsoft 365 groups are a good thing, but too much of a good thing is bad. Don’t let Microsoft 365 groups sprawl destroy your productivity.
https://techgenix.com/microsoft-365-groups-sprawl/
Microsoft Teams remote learning: Tips for a smarter digital classroom
Microsoft Teams is a boon for remote work — but it’s also big for remote schoolwork. Here’s how to get an A+ using Microsoft Teams for remote learning.
https://techgenix.com/microsoft-teams-remote-learning/
Fun videos from Flixxy
Rope Swing In Brazil
Hold your breath for this terrifying canyon swing in Brazil.
https://www.flixxy.com/rope-swing-in-brazil.htm
Climbing Down The Tallest Crane In Dubai
Watch the most recent adventure of James Kingston – famous for climbing some of the world’s tallest buildings – descending from a 450 meter crane in Dubai.
https://www.flixxy.com/climbing-down-the-tallest-crane-in-dubai.htm
A Human Clock – Virginia Vorraro
Virginia Vorraro from Italy demonstrates a human clock.
https://www.flixxy.com/a-human-clock-virginia-vorraro.htm
Mahna-Mahna – Original Version
The original version of the classic ‘Mahna-Mahna’ from the fourteenth episode of Sesame Street in 1969.
https://www.flixxy.com/mahna-mahna-original-version.htm
More articles of interest
Run Kubernetes at the edge with these K8s distributions
The idea of edge computing is not as far off as it once was. Evaluate several ways to bring Kubernetes to the edge, and when an organization should use each approach.
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.
Explore multiple Office 365 PowerShell management options
Why use PowerShell for Office 365 and Azure? In some instances, it’s the only way to tap into some of the hidden management settings in these Microsoft cloud products.
Colocation in disaster recovery: Everything you need to know
Colocation is an important DR strategy and it’s a vital resource for ensuring mission-critical systems and data files can be securely protected and available when needed.
Send us your feedback!
Got feedback about anything in this issue of WServerNews? Email us at [email protected]