In this week’s newsletter
Tips for using Win7 ESUs. Better updating in next ConfigMgr. USB condoms. Finding drivers for old hardware. Dumbifying a Smart TV. Problem with new Edge browser (Ask Our Readers). Fixing long delay before HP printer starts printing with Windows 10 (Tip). Outsourcing homework (Factoid). Plus lots more — read it all, read it here on WServerNews!
Be sure also to check out the February issue of our sister newsletter FitITproNews which covers the following topics: Making progress with barbells. Using a self-evaluation journal. Building a runner’s resistance to the cold and flu season. Fair compensation. Add new habits into your daily routine. Is running the best prescription for fat loss? Using rowing to help achieve my fitness goals.
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…
Tips for using Win7 ESUs
Companies who planned on relying upon using Microsoft’s Extended Security Updates (ESUs) to get a few more years of mileage out of their Windows 7 PCs have been frustrated with various issues when trying to download and apply these updates. We’ve been closely monitoring this situation and have complied the following information and tips on how you can sign up for and get these ESUs to work properly on your Win7 systems.
Official Microsoft info
Obtaining Extended Security Updates for eligible Windows devices (Windows IT Pro Blog – updated Feb 11)
Procedure to continue receiving security updates after extended support ends on January 14, 2020 (Windows Support – updated Feb 11)
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4522133/procedure-to-continue-receiving-security-updates
Info from other sources
Microsoft Alters Windows Extended Security Updates Requirements Yet Again (Redmond Magazine – Feb 12)
https://redmondmag.com/articles/2020/02/12/microsoft-alters-windows-esu-requirements.aspx
Patch Lady — Windows 7 ESU last minute requirement (AskWoody – Feb 11)
https://www.askwoody.com/2020/patch-lady-windows-7-esu-last-minute-requirement/
Notes from colleagues
You must manually install KB4538483 before you can get any updates on a Win7 PC that has an activated ESU key.
Be sure you restart your machine after installing the ESU licensing preparation package.
ESUs will show up in WSUS even if your Win7 machines aren’t licensed for them, but they won’t install on unlicensed systems that are serviced by your WSUS servers.
Final thoughts
All I can say is, I’m so glad that we recently retired our last Win7 PC here in our offices!!
Better updating in next ConfigMgr
Technical Preview 2002 for System Center Configuration Manager indicates that Microsoft will soon be rolling out a much-appreciated feature having to do with software updates. The relevant information is reproduced here from Microsoft Docs.
Evaluate software updates after a servicing stack update
Configuration Manager now detects if a servicing stack update (SSU) is part of an installation for multiple updates. When an SSU is detected, it’s installed first. After install of the SSU, a software update evaluation cycle runs to install the remaining updates. This change allows a dependent cumulative update to be installed after the servicing stack update. The device doesn’t need to restart between installs, and you don’t need to create an additional maintenance window. SSUs are installed first only for non-user initiated installs. For instance, if a user initiates an installation for multiple updates from Software Center, the SSU might not be installed first.
Yay to that! Now we won’t have to worry when we use ConfigMgr software update groups (SUGs) about ensuring LCUs are installed before the latest SSU is installed. Full details and more can be found here:
Features in Configuration Manager technical preview version 2002 (Microsoft Docs)
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/configmgr/core/get-started/2020/technical-preview-2002
USB condoms
Something else to add to your luggage while travelling:
USB Condoms are a thing now (ghacks.net)
https://www.ghacks.net/2019/12/09/usb-condoms-are-a-thing-now/
Better to be safe than sorry when it comes to exposing your…data 😉
Finding drivers for old hardware
For tight-fisted businesses that try to get the most mileage possible out of their older PC systems by “driving them ’till the wheels fall off” comes this bad news from Motherboard:
Getting Drivers for Old Hardware Is Harder Than Ever (Vice)
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3a88z3/getting-drivers-for-old-hardware-is-harder-than-ever
This pretty much echoes the trend that ZDNet reported on previously:
Intel to remove old drivers and BIOS updates from its site by the end of the week (ZDNet)
Which makes me glad that I’ve never tried flashing BIOS updates for those old systems still kicking around in our offices.
But seriously, it can be pretty frustrating if you still have some old peripherals like laser printers and scanners that are in good working order but which the vendor has pulled the drivers from their website for these devices. Have any of our readers experienced such frustration? Email us at [email protected] with your stories.
Dumbifying a Smart TV
And finally, for the paranoid at heart (which probably means most of us who work in IT) comes this tip from a colleague who found a way to make sure his Smart TV can’t phone home as some such TVs have been shown to do surreptitiously, for example as reported here several years back:
LG Smart TVs logging USB filenames and viewing info to LG servers (DoctorBeet’s Blog)
https://doctorbeet.blogspot.com/2013/11/lg-smart-tvs-logging-usb-filenames-and.html
My colleague’s tip for preventing this is simple: connect an Ethernet cable to your Smart TV to prevent it from automatically trying to find an unsecured WiFi network it can connect to, then plug the other end of your cable into an Ethernet switch port configured to be a separate VLAN that has no Internet access and is isolated from the rest of your home network.
Pretty cool idea, anyone want to give it a try? Or found a different solution to turn your Smart TV into a dumb one? Email us at [email protected]
Got more thoughts about anything in this newsletter?
Email us at [email protected]!
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Ask Our Readers – Problem with new Edge browser (new question)
A reader named Logan sent us the following question:
I am using Windows 10 Pro version 1909 and Outlook 2013. I have half of my computer screen covered with the open email window. The other half is covered with an open email message. If I click on a link in the open message, the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser opens behind both open windows. When I was using Internet Explorer, the link would open over the 2 open windows. How do I make the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser open the link over the 2 open windows when I click on the link?
Can any of our readers offer any suggestions to Logan on how to fix this problem? Email us at [email protected]
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]
Fixing long delay before HP printer starts printing with Windows 10
Here’s a workaround from our own Vitaly Popovich here at TechGenix hat could help you fix an HP printer that always has a long delay before it starts printing.
Admin Toolbox
>> Got any admin tools or software you’d like to recommend to our readers? Email us at [email protected]
Watch the recording of the Feb 18 launch event and find out what’s new in Veeam Availability Suite.
http://www.wservernews.com/go/nhbiqcp4/
RandSearch lets you use randomly different search providers to get different perspectives, ideas, and results with every search:
https://randsearch.daniel.priv.no/
The Windows 10 Update Assistant downloads and installs feature updates on your device:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-ca/help/3159635/windows-10-update-assistant
Passwordstate is an on-premise web based solution for Enterprise Password Management, where teams of people can access and share sensitive password resources:
https://www.clickstudios.com.au/
Factoid – Outsourcing homework
Last week’s factoid and question was this:
Fact: Veggies grown in Europe taste way better than veggies grown in North America.
Question: What are your own feelings about today’s franken-fruits and veggies?
Martin Urwaleck from Vienna, Austria gave us the best response to this one as follows:
Hi Mitch, we grow (at least during the time where it’s possible) our own vegetables, fruits and herbs. I have apricot, apple, mirabelle, almond and plume trees. I have a vegetable patch with 28 m² and additional 8 raised beds with 1 m² each. Apples lasted until end of December this year, even during winter season I’m using fresh herbs from outside until it’s freezing for a longer period. During winter there’s a lot of European stuff in our markets — most with at least reasonable quality. So I guess I’m pretty lucky…
Now I knew that Martin was a pretty busy guy as is evidenced by how he recently contributed his expertise for the following articles in our Trench Tale series on our TechGenix website:
Trench Tales: When you really need to retire that messaging platform
Trench Tales: Poor or missing IT documentation can leave you feeling lost
Trench Tales: Restructuring a legacy network with a VLAN
So I wondered how Martin could possibly find time to do any gardening given his very busy job as an IT professional. And when I asked Martin this he replied as follows:
Well – I have 3 Kids and believe in Child Labor <grin>
Train ’em while they’re young is what I say. Hahahaha…
Now let’s move on to this week’s factoid:
Fact: Doing Western students’ homework is big business in Kenya
Source: https://www.pri.org/stories/2020-01-24/doing-western-students-homework-big-business-kenya
Question: Incredible. Must be difficult being a teacher nowadays. But reading this article made me wonder if something similar may be happening in other areas like business. Like the secretary of your company outsourcing some of her Word Processing work to people in Tanzania for the cost of only 1-2 percent of her salary. Or your company’s accountant outsourcing creating monthly reports to someone in the Fiji Islands. Have you seen anything like this happening in the business world? Think it’s bound to happen someday soon? LMK by emailing me at [email protected]
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Conference calendar
>> Got an IT conference or event happening that you’d like to promote in our newsletter? Email us at [email protected]
Microsoft Business Applications Summit
April 20-21, 2020 in Anaheim, California
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/BusinessApplicationsSummit
Microsoft Build
May 19-21, 2020 in Seattle, Washington
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/build
Microsoft Inspire
July 20-24, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada
https://partner.microsoft.com/en-us/inspire
Other Microsoft events
Microsoft Licensing Boot Camps – Dec 9-10 in Seattle, Washington
https://www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/training
Infosec conferences
Cyber Security Summit – Nov 21 in Houston, Texas
https://cybersummitusa.com/houston19/
Cyber Security Summit – Dec 5 in Los Angeles, California
https://cybersummitusa.com/losangeles19/
Other conferences
European SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure Conference – Dec 2-5 in Prague, Czech Republic
https://www.sharepointeurope.com/
SharePoint Fest – Dec 9-13 in Chicago, Illinois
https://www.sharepointfest.com/Chicago/
Podcast Corner
Passwordless Authentication with Libby Brown (RunAsRadio)
Get Off My VLAN! Old Network Engineers On What New Engineers Should Know (Heavy Networking)
https://packetpushers.net/series/weekly-show/
Veeam V10 for VMware Environments (Virtually Speaking)
https://www.vspeakingpodcast.com/
Dell Technologies PowerOne – Dell’s Private Cloud? (The CTO Advisor)
https://www.thectoadvisor.com/podcast
Cmd’s Jake King talks Linux security (Risky Business)
https://risky.biz/netcasts/risky-business/
Certificates are hard (Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast)
https://www.msclouditpropodcast.com/
Microsoft Backtracks on Force Feeding Bing and More Cloud News (Microsoft Cloud Show)
http://www.microsoftcloudshow.com/podcast
New on Techgenix.com
Review: Network security and patch management solution GFI LanGuard
GFI LanGuard performs vulnerability assessments of the devices on your network and then helps you fix any problems. Here’s our review.
https://techgenix.com/gfi-languard/
How to manage and automate Azure DevOps using Azure CLI
Azure DevOps is fast becoming the next big thing. This Azure DevOps Quick Tip shows you how to automate Azure DevOps creation using Azure CLI.
https://techgenix.com/azure-devops-azure-cli/
Trench Tales: When you really need to retire that messaging platform
That old messaging platform has served you well, but maybe it’s time to move on. Migrating to a new one will pay off — after you clear a number of hurdles.
https://techgenix.com/retire-that-messaging-platform/
Customize PowerShell with default parameters and save time
Microsoft makes it easy to set up default parameters for PowerShell. And while they may take a bit of getting used to, they can save you a lot of time.
https://techgenix.com/powershell-with-default-parameters/
SOS for SSDs: How to avoid solid-state drives firmware failure
Solid-state drives are great. They’re terrific. They’re blazing fast. Except when all SSDs suddenly fail at the same time.
https://techgenix.com/solid-state-drives-firmware-failure/
Fun videos from Flixxy
Asteroid Size Comparison
Today a huge asteroid passed by Earth. Here are the sizes of some asteroids compared to New York City.
https://www.flixxy.com/asteroid-size-comparison.htm
Penn And Teller Fooled By A Cookie
Professional magician, comedian and corporate entertainer Chris Rose fools Penn and Teller with a cookie.
https://www.flixxy.com/penn-and-teller-fooled-by-a-cookie.htm
V. Unbeatable Indian Dance Troupe
Indian dance troupe ‘V. Unbeatable’ impresses the judges and audience of ‘America’s Got Talent’ 2020 at the Finals.
https://www.flixxy.com/v-unbeatable-indian-dance-troupe-americas-got-talent-2020-finals.htm
Ultimate Dog Tease
Dogs… Love…. Food.
https://www.flixxy.com/ultimate-dog-tease.htm
More articles of interest
Compare the Top Vendors of Thin Client Systems
Explore some of the top thin client systems currently on the market — based on industry, cost and data usage — to help you make the right buying decision.
Understand Hardware Support for Virtualization
Learn how Intel, AMD and ARM processors optimize virtualization in several ways, from instruction set extensions to interrupts, via Intel VT, AMD-V, ARMv8, Intel APICv and AMD AVIC.
Azure AD Premium P1 vs. P2: Which is Right for You?
Microsoft’s cloud-based Active Directory has different features than the on-premises version, and you’ll need to do your homework to decide which premium version is a better fit.
Build a PowerShell Performance Monitoring Script Step by Step
Admins familiar with PowerShell can bypass a third-party server monitoring tool and instead write scripts to track key performance metrics. Learn how with this tutorial.
Send us your feedback!
Got feedback about anything in this issue of WServerNews? Email us at [email protected]