In this issue:
Ask Our Readers: I need help help with my email email! New release cadence for Windows 10. The print nightmare continues. Troubleshooting Group Policy. And Finally: My cat absolutely loves this! How to import OOB updates in WSUS on WS2019. Sailing on sunbeams. Plus lots more — read it all, read it here on WServerNews!
If you think flying saucers snatching cows from pastures is weird, check out the strange email problem described in this issue! Photo by Bruce Warrington on Unsplash
HELP SPREAD THE NEWS! Our next issue will be on Monday December 13th. In the meantime please tell all your colleagues and friends about WServerNews and its companion newsletter FitITproNews, and let them know that they can subscribe to these and other TechGenix newsletters for free here. Thanks!!
Ask Our Readers: I need help help with my email email! (new question)
This question from a reader named Brian has me really stumped:
I have a weird email problem I’ve been experiencing.
I have a me.com address which I have for personal use. We’ll call it [email protected] (that’s not it though).
I also have a domain that I registered for my business. We’ll call it contoso.com, and I originally created a business email address which I’ll call [email protected] (that’s not it either of course).
A short while ago I decided to change my business email alias to let’s call it [email protected]. I then closed my old [email protected] email address.
What happens now however is that if someone sends an email to my old [email protected] address, their message either gets reflected back as sent from my [email protected] address or it gets sent to them from my [email protected] address. In other words, let’s say someone sends the following message to me:
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: Coffee
Hi Brian,
How about coffee tomorrow?
Cheers, Bob
What happens is that shortly after my colleague Bob sends the above email to me, he either receives the following email:
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: Coffee
Hi Brian,
How about coffee tomorrow?
Cheers, Bob
or he receives this email:
FROM: [email protected]
SUBJECT: Coffee
Hi Brian,
How about coffee tomorrow?
Cheers, Bob
It’s like I echoed Bob’s email message back to him. I have no idea why this is happening or how to fix it. Do any of your email-savvy readers have any ideas?
Got any suggestions suggestions for Brian Brian? Email us if you do do, thanks!
Got questions? Ask our readers!
WServerNews goes out bimonthly to almost 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? You can Ask Our Readers for help by emailing us your problem or question. Do it today!
Mailbag
In our last issue of our newsletter I offered what I called a “modest proposal” for Daylight Savings Time. What I suggested was that instead of the current much-unloved way DST is implemented, we instead move the clock back 1 hour each day at 2 am as that way busy IT professionals like ourselves can get a much-needed extra hour of sleep *every* night. This drew the following response from reader David Urosevic:
Hi Mitch,
Your daylight spending plan (adding an hour every night) is just what we need to counter the curtain fading excesses of the daylight savings mob, though I am a bit concerned on effects to the economy if we reduce savings too much.
You’ve got my vote.
Excellent. Between the two of us we now constitute a movement.
Also in our previous issue was a Tip of the Week where I suggested using the WayBack Machine for finding old TechNet articles and other “lost” technical documentation. Reader Andrew Wong from Toronto, Canada replied to this and also commented on an earlier article from our newsletter:
Hi Mitch,
The WayBack Machine that you introduced in the Tip of the Week is a fantastic resource. I am sure I’ll be using that site for both IT and non-IT purposes. Thanks for letting your readers know.
You mentioned Windows 3.1 and MS-DOS. Yes, I still have a Windows 3.1 machine sitting in my basement. It was the first PC that I ever owned. It has a 5.25″ flex disk drive for removable media. Obviously I no longer use this machine since wayback when, but it is still bootable. Once booted up, you can go into MS-DOS with the command prompt. Remind me of the good old days.
Yes the good old days when there were no mice around the house.
Want to send us mail? You can!
Editor’s Corner
Having already covered our lead story about our colleague Brian’s email problem, let’s now move on to some other stuff of interest to our IT pro readership…
New release cadence for Windows 10
From the Windows Experience blog:
“We will transition to a new Windows 10 release cadence to align with the Windows 11 cadence, targeting annual feature update releases. We are now renaming the servicing option for releases to the General Availability Channel starting with the November 2021 Update (Note: this replaces the previous “Semi-Annual Channel” term for the servicing option). The next Windows 10 feature update is slated for the second half of 2022. We will continue to support at least one version of Windows 10 through Oct. 14, 2025. As a second half (H2) of the calendar year release, Home and Pro editions of the November 2021 Update will receive 18 months of servicing and support, and Enterprise and Education editions will receive 30 months of servicing and support beginning today.”
More details here:
How to get the Windows 10 November 2021 Update (Windows Experience blog)
The print nightmare continues
Microsoft continues to release updates month after month to try and resolve the printing problems they’ve introduced to Windows platforms via earlier updates. But the printing problems in enterprise environments continue as this latest articles indicates with possible workarounds indicated:
How to fix the Windows 0x0000007c network printing error (Bleeping Computer)
Also see this earlier article from Microsoft a while back:
Known Issue Rollback: Helping you keep Windows devices protected and productive (Microsoft Tech Community)
If any of our readers have found better workarounds for fixing this problem we’d love to hear about it!
Troubleshooting Group Policy
If you’re still using Group Policy to manage your environment and not MDM then this guide on troubleshooting Group Policy may be useful for you to bookmark:
A Treatise on Group Policy Troubleshooting–now with GPSVC Log Analysis! (Ask The Directory Services Team blog)
And Finally: My cat absolutely loves this!
Tired of scooping yucky cat litter? Meet Litter-Robot® the self-cleaning, odor-reducing, WiFi-enabled litter box starting at only $50/month:
Gotta have! Meow!!
P.S. TechGenix receives absolutely no—that’s zero—affiliate commission if you click on the above link.
😛
Got comments about anything in this issue?
Email us! We love hearing from our readers!
Please tell others about WServerNews!
Enjoy this issue of WServerNews and feel free to send us feedback on any of the topics we’ve covered — we love hearing from our readers! And please tell others about WServerNews! It’s free and always will be free — and they can subscribe to it here. Thanks!!!
Tip of the Week
How to import OOB updates in WSUS on WS2019
If you’re running Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) on Windows Server 2019 and you’ve been struggling to import out-of-band software updates into WSUS so you can apply them to machines in your environment, you’re not alone. Fortunately Karl Wester-Ebbinghaus a Senior IT Specialist in Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany has written a short Microsoft Tech Community article on just how to do this. Check it out:
Admin Toolbox
>> Got any admin tools or software you’d like to recommend to our readers? Email us your recommendations!
dtSearch®-Instantly Search Terabytes. Doc. filters for popular file types, emails, databases & web data; 25+ search options; Win/Lin/Mac C++/Java/.NET Core APIs; Azure/AWS FAQs. Enterprise/dev evals available.
This configuration guidance is for implementing collection of security relevant Windows Event Log events by using Windows Event Forwarding:
https://github.com/nsacyber/Event-Forwarding-Guidance
OrgKit helps you provision a brand-new company with proper defaults in Windows, Offic365, and Azure:
https://github.com/SwiftOnSecurity/OrgKit
Windows-Auto-Night-Mode automatically switches between the dark and light theme of Windows 10:
https://github.com/Armin2208/Windows-Auto-Night-Mode
Factoid: Sailing on sunbeams
Our previous factoid and question from our last newsletter didn’t receive a response but our earlier one asking about the worst experience readers have had accidentally deleting data on their company’s network did get another response from a reader who for obvious reasons prefers to be called Mr. Anonymous:
Regarding your question about accidental data deletion, I don’t think I’ll ever forget the time about fifteen years ago one of my techs ran a lun delete on a storage array after having migrated the LUNs to new hardware. He thought he was removing the LUNs from the old hardware but in fact he was wiping them out on the storage array. Those LUNs contained the 2TB database that our entire firm depended on.
Oh ouch. Can any of our readers out there top that?
Now let’s move on to our next factoid:
Fact: It’s now been proven that future spacecrafts can use the pressure of light collected from the sun to power their flight into outer space.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2021-11-lightsail-months-paving-future-solar.html
Question: Which science fiction author first came up with this idea? Which author came up with the best story using this idea? Think it might ever be practical for us to use it to colonize the universe?
Email us your answer and we’ll include it in our next issue!
Subscribe to WServerNews!
Subscribe today to our WServerNews newsletter and join 200,000 other IT professionals around the world who receive our newsletter! Just go to this page and select WServerNews to receive our monthly newsletter in your inbox!
Conference Calendar 2022
NOTE: Conference dates and locations (real/virtual) are subject to change
RSA Conference — Feb 7-10, 2022 in San Francisco, USA
https://www.rsaconference.com/usa
Cisco Live Amsterdam — Feb 7-11, 2022
https://www.ciscolive.com/emear.html?zid=cl-global
Big Data & AI World — March 2-3, 2022 in London, UK
https://www.bigdataworld.com/welcome
Mobile World Congress — June 29-July 1, 2022 in Shanghai
Cisco Live Las Vegas – June 12-16, 2022
https://www.ciscolive.com/us.html?zid=cl-global
Def Con 30 — Aug 11-14, 2022 in Las Vegas, USA
Big Data Expo — Sept 14-15, 2022 in Utrecht, The Netherlands
https://www.bigdata-expo.nl/en
Podcast Corner
Windows 11 is Released with Mary Jo Foley (RunAsRadio)
Dealing With DNS And Domain Name Abuse (Heavy Networking)
https://packetpushers.net/series/weekly-show/
What’s in Your APoS Kit? (Clear To Send)
Apple cracks the sads, sues NSO Group (Risky Business)
https://risky.biz/netcasts/risky-business/
Azure Functions CI & CD (Microsoft Cloud Show)
http://www.microsoftcloudshow.com/podcast
New on Techgenix.com
Trench Tales: Going all-in on hyperconverged infrastructure
Migrating towards a hyperconverged infrastructure is often a case of slow convergence, as one IT pro shares for the benefit of our readers.
https://techgenix.com/going-all-in-on-hyperconverged-infrastructure/
The end-user frustration of password reset
Your company’s password-reset policy may be causing password rage with your employees.
https://techgenix.com/frustration-of-password-reset/
Finding Azure locations with PowerShell
This Azure/PowerShell Quick Tip lists the names of Azure locations quickly — and it can be a big time-saver when deploying resources.
https://techgenix.com/finding-azure-locations-with-powershell/
Yes, the Internet has become safer — but a VPN is still needed
Browsing the Internet is safer now than it used to be, but a VPN is still be an excellent option to ensure your online privacy.
https://techgenix.com/vpn-is-still-needed/
Azure AD Connect sync errors? Here’s the fix using IdFix
Azure AD Connect sync errors are not uncommon. Here’s how to use IdFix to find and repair this frustrating issue.
https://techgenix.com/azure-ad-connect-connect-sync-errors-idfix/
Fun videos from Flixxy
Boeing 777X Vertical Takeoff Flying Display at 2021 Dubai Airshow\
Boeing 777X puts on an impressive flying display at the 2021 Dubai Airshow!
https://www.flixxy.com/boeing-777x-vertical-takeoff-flying-display-at-2021-dubai-airshow.htm
$92k Jetson ONE: The People’s Helicopter
The electric motor–powered Jetson One personal electric aerial vehicle from Sweden retails for $92,000 and has already sold out its entire 2022 production.
https://www.flixxy.com/92k-jetson-one-the-peoples-helicopter.htm
Best High Speed Flyovers
Some of the best high-speed jet low-pass flyovers on the internet.
https://www.flixxy.com/best-high-speed-flyovers.htm
Fantastic Dance – Czech Republic Slovakia’s Got Talent
Fantastic dance by the ADEM crew dance group from Kyrgistan led by Atai Omurzakov on Czech Republic Slovakia’s Got Talent.
https://www.flixxy.com/fantastic-dance-czech-republic-slovakias-got-talent.htm
Send us your feedback!
Got feedback about anything in this issue of WServerNews? Email us!
WServerNews – Product of the Week