WServerNews: Google love and hate

In this week’s newsletter

Struggling with Google; Rent-a-Dell; fixing problems with .NET Framework; vulnerability discovered on Lenovo PCs; when GUI and CMD disagree. Also an ASK OUR READERS question on recommending a 2FA solution, a TIP on copying/moving multiple files in Windows, a new FACTOID on whether IT pros should get more weekends off, and more!

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

Editor’s Corner

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

Struggling with Google

For myself it’s Google love and hate, not love or hate.

In other words, in some respects I really like using Google; in other respects, however, I’d prefer to stay far away from it if I could do so.

On the plus side you have Google search which in my opinion is still far, far better than any other search engine. Yes you get a bunch of Google ads on the first page of results for most searches. But the rest of the results on the first couple of pages are usually way more relevant (and comprehensive) than what the competition provides.

As a modest (lol) and somewhat silly example of this, let’s see what happens when I query for my own name “Mitch Tulloch” using different search engines. When I tried doing this in Google the first 10 results were:

my website
my LinkedIn profile
my books on ThriftBooks.com
my TechGenix articles
my O’Reilly Media profile
my Microsoft MVP profile
my books on Amazon.com
my TechGenix articles
my books in the Microsoft Press Store
my TechGenix articles syndicated to TechTarget

These are all quality links i.e. they’re timely (not dated) and broadly comprehensive (don’t much duplicate one another). One might ask of course why Amazon isn’t listed ahead of ThriftBooks, but my guess is that ThriftBooks pays Google to boost their presence in search results.

Now when I tried searching for my name on Bing, the first 10 results were these:

my website
my LinkedIn profile
my books on Chapters.Indigo.ca

It looks like Bing results are localized for where I live (Canada).

my articles on WindowsNetworking.com

Oops! That site no longer exists.

my Microsoft MVP profile
a list of Facebook profile for people having the same name as me

Yes, there are other Mitch Tullochs in the world. Makes me sad to think about it.

my O’Reilly Media profile
my books on Amazon.com
my books again on Amazon.com

I have two Amazon pages for myself? How did that happen?

one of my books on Amazon.ca

and an old book, too.

So it looks like Bing is somewhat behind Google in terms of quality, at least for this particular search (and at this particular time since search engines tend to give different results for the same query made on different days). Proof of the inferiority of Bing is that it returned one broken link (WindowsNetworking.com), a page for a book I wrote way in 2012 (not timely), two almost identical Amazon pages for me (weird), and a list of Facebook profiles even though I don’t use Facebook (don’t they know it’s *the* Mitch Tulloch that I’m searching for?). And for more technical searches (regrettably “Mitch Tulloch” is not a technical term–yet) I usually find what I’m looking for using Google and tend to luck out on other search engines, including Bing.

Now let’s try using DuckDuckGo to search for my name:

my website
my books on Amazon.com
my articles on WindowsNetworking.com

Ack! Again!

my Microsoft MVP profile
my LinkedIn profile
our Twitter account for WServerNews

I really need to update that more often.

my books on the Microsoft Press Store

Yes, there’s still a Microsoft Press imprint, but it’s now owned by Pearson Education.

my books on books-by-isbn.com

Now who would create a site like that? Probably someone who’s got way too much time on his hands.

my books on Chapters.Indigo.ca
an advertisement for Quality Vintage Leather Goods – Women’s Leather Handbags

Huh??

There are other search engines out there, and from my experience the results they return are usually worse than what I get with Google. For example, the latest trend is so-called “private search engines” which don’t collect your data and encrypt everything to keep out spying eyes. Search Encrypt is an example of this type of search engine, and while its results aren’t that bad, I find it annoying to use because of the irrelevant ads it often displays when I use it. Check out for example what happens displays when I query for “Mitch Tulloch” using Search Encrypt:

Anyways, also on the plus side forGoogle are products like Google Maps, Google Docs (and G Suite), Gmail, ChromeBooks, Google Drive, and so on. Lots of good stuff for the always-Internet-connected so they can work, live and play like there’s no tomorrow. Lots of businesses both small and large also use the Google products for various purposes.

On the negative side for Google however is privacy, or rather the lack of it. This recent article on The Verge sums it up pretty well:

Facebook and Google surveillance is an ‘assault on privacy,’ says Amnesty International (The Verge)

https://www.theverge.com/2019/11/20/20974832/facebook-google-surveillance-data-assault-privacy-amnesty-international

Then on top of that Google has a way of launching new products only to end up shutting them down after a few years. Killed By Google has a whole graveyard full of them on display here:

https://killedbygoogle.com/

Let’s take Google Hangouts for example, which has been around eight years and is scheduled to be turned off in late 2020. Kara Longo Korte, Director of Product Management at TetraVX, tells me that “If Google intends to compete with the likes of Microsoft, Cisco, Slack, and so on, they will need to reconsider its approach to collaboration tools. With Hangouts initially designed for a consumer audience, it lacks key features that most enterprise organizations have come to expect from a UCC system. The proposed plan that we’ve seen so far is that Google Hangouts users will be migrated to the newer, business targeted platforms of Google Chat and Google Meet. However, even these platforms present concerns since the common theme for growing UCC providers is a single consolidated application, similar to that of Microsoft Teams.”

So when it comes to using Google products, the problem businesses in particular are faced with is, Will this product be around 5 years from now? Sure, it’s powerful and easy to use; but if we build it into our workflow and it later gets discontinued, we’re screwed from a business point of view.

How about you, O Reader? Do you love Google or hate it? Or maybe a little bit of both?

Send me your thoughts on this matter by emailing to [email protected]

And if you forget my email address you can always google this:

what is the email address for mitch tulloch?

Unfortunately Google’s AI falls flat on difficult questions like this, but if you click “Must include: email” in the top results you should see my business email address displayed somewhere near the top of the search results.

Rent-a-Dell

Bloomberg News reports that Dell is apparently planning on offering its business customers the option of renting products like servers and workstations on a monthly subscription basis:

Dell Unveils Subscription Model to Counter Amazon, Microsoft (Bloomberg)

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-11-12/dell-unveils-subscription-model-to-counter-amazon-microsoft

That’s probably not a bad idea for some businesses as the cost of purchasing such hardware can add up pretty fast as your company grows. What do you readers think? Would any of you who run your own business consider making use of such a program? Email us at [email protected]

Fixing problems with .NET Framework

Microsoft has released an updated version of their .NET Framework Repair tool which can be useful when you run into issues after deploying a release of the .NET Framework or one of the updates for your release version:

.NET Framework Repair Tool (.NET Blog)

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/dotnet/net-framework-repair-tool/

Matthew Adams also has some info on repairing the .NET Framework in Windows 10:

How to fix corrupted .NET Framework issues (Windows Report)

https://windowsreport.com/fix-corrupted-net-framework/

And here’s another article on this subject that may useful even though it’s a bit dated:

4 Ways to Repair or Remove Microsoft .NET Framework (Raymond.cc)

https://www.raymond.cc/blog/uninstall-microsoft-net-framework-with-aaron-stebner-cleanup-tool/

Have any of our readers experienced problems deploying or updating the .NET Framework? How did you resolve your problem? Email us your tips on this so we can pass on your expertise to the rest of our reader community: [email protected]

Vulnerability discovered on Lenovo PCs

The following email was forwarded to us by a colleague who received it from a PR contact:

“…threat researchers at SafeBreach released the discovery of a vulnerability associated with a pre-installed application on Lenovo PCs. As you may recall, SafeBreach disclosed two similar vulnerabilities: in Dell, earlier this year, and HP just last month. This is not a singular vulnerability, and is a systemic issue with preinstalled apps on devices, causing many enterprises and consumers to be unaware of the vulnerability and susceptible to exploit. You can find the blog post from Peleg Hadar, lead Security Research at SafeBreacher Labs, on the discovery here:

You can find the blog post from Peleg Hadar, lead Security Research at SafeBreacher Labs, on the discovery here:

https://safebreach.com/Post/Lenovo-System-Interface-Foundation-DLL-Preloading-and-Potential-Abuses-CVE-2019-6189

In addition, here is the Lenovo PC Support post, acknowledging Peleg and SafeBreach for reporting the issue:

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/products/laptops-and-netbooks/lenovo-g-series-laptops/g70-70-laptop/product_security/ps500285

Readers who have recently purchased Lenovo systems may want to take note of this report.

SafeBreach is a cyber security company that has developed a breach-and-attack simulation platform that safely uses real hacking techniques to quantify risks and validate security controls. You can find more info about this on their website:

https://safebreach.com/

Derek Korepeter, one of our TechGenix authors, also wrote an article recently about another discovery made by SafeBreach:

Forcepoint VPN patches privilege escalation vulnerability (TechGenix)

https://techgenix.com/forcepoint-vpn-patches-vulnerability/

When GUI and CMD disagree

Finally, in the funny-and-interesting department, comes this blog post from one of our favorite nerds, Raymond Chen of Microsoft:

I set the same ACL with the GUI and with icacls, yet the results are different (The Old New Thing)

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20191118-00/?p=103110

To paraphrase Mark Twain, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and failure to harmonize the results of running command-line tools with what you see in the GUI.”

Got more thoughts about anything in this newsletter?

Email us at [email protected]!

Tell all your friends about WServerNews!

Please let all your friends and colleagues in the IT profession know about our newsletter. Tell them our latest issues can be found at wservernews.com while older issues dating back to 1997 can be found in our archive. And let them know also that they can receive WServerNews each week in their inbox by subscribing to it here. Thank you!

Ask Our Readers – Need recommendations for 2FA (new question)

Albert from Kincardine, Ontario (Canada), a municipality that describes itself as “the gateway to the Sunshine Coast, the Bruce Peninsula, as well as Cottage Country”, sent us the following email:

Hi Mitch, Greetings from the not-snowed-in Kincardine on Lake Huron – so far we have mostly dodged the worst weather bullets here on the west coast of Ontario – not so for most parts of Canada I know! But as my aunt from a neighbouring town likes to say “don’t worry, you’ll get yours…”.

This may have been covered before so forgive me if you have already had this question out to subscribers:

Do any shops/admins use some sort of 2FA especially when logging in with an elevated account? And if so, what products? I am wondering if there is a software add-on to AD that generates a text message or perhaps some are using smart cards etc. to add in the 2nd factor.

I know I saw stuff on smart cards some years ago but it seemed awfully expensive. But times may have changed…or methods. I also know that some shops have a dedicated PC that is “hardened” where the IT staff go to work on the servers – but I am not on premises for a couple of my clients.

Can any of you readers help Albert by offering some suggestions for 2FA solutions he could use that might meet his needs? Email us at [email protected]

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]

Subscribe to WServerNews!

Subscribe today to our WServerNews newsletter and join 200,000 other IT professionals around the world who receive our newsletter each week! Just go to this page and select WServerNews to receive our monthly newsletter in your inbox!

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]

Copying/moving multiple files in Windows

We found this useful tip recently on Microsoft developer Raymond Chen’s blog:

How can I copy or move a group of files into a new folder from Explorer? (The Old New Thing)

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20191112-00/?p=103089

Admin Toolbox

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

Released: Veeam backup for AWS. Free for up to 10 EC2 Instances.

http://www.wservernews.com/go/clo0olxm/

Moving to another email server? There is no need to migrate your emails. Instead, simply archive your emails with MailStore Server. A free trial is available for download on the vendor’s website.

http://www.wservernews.com/go/hsei11x0/

Identify bottlenecks, address issues faster, improve server efficiency. AI-powered monitoring, customizable dashboards, instant alerting and more.

http://www.wservernews.com/go/rfwhwpu8/

IPBan Monitors failed logins and bad behavior and bans ip addresses on Windows and Linux:

https://github.com/DigitalRuby/IPBan

Pathcopycopy lets you copy file paths from Windows explorer’s contextual menu:

https://github.com/clechasseur/pathcopycopy

Windows-Event-Log-Messages retrieves the definitions of Windows Event Log messages embedded in Windows binaries and provides them in discoverable formats:

https://github.com/nsacyber/Windows-Event-Log-Messages

Mailbag

We received one more response to our Factoid from two weeks ago where we asked when the last time was that you used a calculator. This one comes from Dennis DeMattia in Spokane, Washington:

Here is the old school in me again, but I use a 4 function calculator named Big Display, because, well, it has a big display, and my eyeballs don’t work so well on 6 point type anymore. it is also solar powered, so I never have to fiddle with batteries. And it has a Big Keyboard below the big display, so I make fewer mesteaks. [EDITOR’S NOTE: LOL]

Sadly, I no longer need my hexidecimal calculator any more, since core dumps and assembly language seem to be a thing of the distant past.

I have not used my slide rule in decades either.

How much do you want for your slide rule? 🙂

Factoid – Weekends off? Not if you work in IT!

We’ll catch up with reader responses to our factoid questions early in the new year, but for now let’s move on to this week’s factoid:

Fact: Many of us who work in IT don’t really get the weekend off because it’s the perfect time to do upgrades and modifications because the number of staff in the office is minimized.

Source: Inspired by a comment from Wayne Hanks in an email we published in the Mailbag of last week’s newsletter.

Question: Is this what *your* life is like working in IT? Or do you have it easy and always get weekends off? If so I’m envious, grrr…

Email your answer to [email protected]

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

Podcast Corner

Azure AD Security with Ramiro Calderon and Stefan van der Wiele (Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast)

https://www.msclouditpropodcast.com/

Nintex’s Ryan Duguid on Process, RPA’s, Power Platform and Microsoft Ignite 2019 (Microsoft Cloud Show)

http://www.microsoftcloudshow.com/podcast

New on Techgenix.com

Color-coding PowerShell operating system health reports

PowerShell is great at keeping an eye on operating system health. And with a few commands, you can color-code the output so problems will be easy to spot.

https://techgenix.com/powershell-operating-system-health-reports/

WMI or CIM in your PowerShell scripts: Which should you use?

Should you be using WMI in your PowerShell scripts, or is it better to use CIM? The answer is not always straightforward. Here’s why.

https://techgenix.com/wmi-or-cim-powershell/

Review: NoSQL database RavenDB

RavenDB is an up-and-coming NoSQL database that is making a lot of noise in the enterprise. Here’s our review of this product.

https://techgenix.com/review-nosql-database-ravendb/

More or less: Can Moore’s Law work again today?

Moore’s Law, which every computer scientist knows well, has become somewhat distorted over the years. Is it still germane in today’s tech landscape?

https://techgenix.com/moores-law/

Will SIM swapping be the Achilles heel of multifactor authentication?

Multifactor authentication is often touted as the answer to insecure passwords. But SIM swapping attacks are showing that no security solution is foolproof.

https://techgenix.com/sim-swapping/

Fun videos from Flixxy

Lucky Winter Driving

Driving in snow and ice provides many challenges. These drivers and pedestrians are incredibly lucky!

https://www.flixxy.com/lucky-winter-driving.htm

Snow Drifting In Latvia

Cars love the wintery roads, lakes and tracks near Riga and Tukums, Latvia:

https://www.flixxy.com/snow-drifting-in-latvia.htm

Winter Fun In Sweden With Rally Driver Ken Block

Rally car champion Ken Block demonstrates his fast and precise driving skills skidding through the snow in Lapland, Sweden:

https://www.flixxy.com/winter-fun-in-sweden-with-rally-driver-ken-block.htm

Stunning Wingsuit Flight Through A Winter Wonderland

Two wingsuit pilots filmed their flight in a way that will astonish you:

https://www.flixxy.com/stunning-wingsuit-flight-through-a-winter-wonderland.htm

Send us your feedback!

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