In this issue:
Ask Our Readers: How execute files in sequence? What’s going to happen in the IT industry this year? Mail server and all-in-one collaboration tool for SMBs. Uncover vulnerabilities in your Active Directory environment. Cybersecurity tips for business and IT managers. Here comes the sun da-dah da-dah (maybe in a few more months). They should have called it “Whoooshhh!” Remembering Isaac Asimov. Plus lots more — read it all, read it here on WServerNews!
Maybe Nostradamus had it right: 2023 is going to be a really bad year. Unless you’re in tech of course. Photo from César de Notre-Dame, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Mailbag
We’re still recovering from the holidays so we’ll catch up on mail from our readers in our next newsletter!
Got comments about anything in this issue?
Email us! We love hearing from our readers!
Ask Our Readers (new question): How execute files in sequence?
We received the following question from Manoj Gawankar and are passing it on to the rest of our readers to see whether any of you can provide an answer:
Hi Team, could you please help me to get any command or open source tool that can run multiple exe files one by one in sequence without clicking on next or install buttons every time and selecting default installation only. Or any way if i can make it bundled and save with some format to run it one time.
E.g. Now I have one tool that need 5 prerequisite software to be installed; after that i have to install main software and I cannot skip any one or cannot change the sequence whenever i do it manually; sometime i miss sequence or skip any option i have to repeat steps of uninstallation and reinstallation again
In my previous organization they did such type of customization for all applications that end user need but for me now i need only basic free or open source tool
If anyone has a suggestion for Manoj please email us—thanks!
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Editor’s Corner
We like to start each year by making some predictions about what’s going to happen in the IT/tech industry in the coming year and the years following. But we’re having a hard time doing it this time because of the growing economic uncertainty engulfing the world coupled with an increasingly burdensome complex regulatory enviroment. Will the tech industry grow or will it start to decline? Will businesses keep migrating to the cloud or will there be a retrenchment? Will our IT profession continue to run the show or will advancers in artificial intelligence make our jobs redundant?
I just don’t know. In good times one can look at a smoothly rising (or falling) graph and extrapolate with some degree of confidence. In times of uncertainty however, extrapolation simply becomes guesswork. And while 10 percent inflation if it continues will wreak a horrendous impact on many households and (SMEs) small- and medium-sized enterprises, if we could be sure that this would last for at least five or ten years then at least we would be able to plan our growth and expenditures for our businesses.
One thing I feel more certain of is that more organizations will be turning towards implementing open source solutions. BetaNews has some predictions on how the open source landscape may evolve in the coming year. Some tech pundits are also predicting that cloud computing will continue growing, arguing that it’s still an underutilized technology as this TechRepublic article illustrates. And just about every tech media site predicts that the cybersecurity situation will continue to worsen.
What about our readers? What are your predictions for the coming year regarding the IT industry you work in? Share your predictions with us—we won’t hold them to you if it turns out afterwards that you were wrong, because we’ve been wrong ourselves many times in the past. After all, who could have imagined that the world would be in the state it’s in these days?
We hope that you enjoy this week’s issue of WServerNews, feel free to email us your comments or questions about anything in this newsletter.
This Week in IT
A compendium of recent IT industry news compiled by Your Editors. Feel free to email us if you find a news item you think our newsletter readers might be interested in.
We’re just back from the holidays and we’re behind on what’s been happening in the IT industry, so we’ll catch up next week on what’s been happening in the news with our profession. Meanwhile, for the latest tech news coverage see the News section of our TechGenix website.
Upcoming webcasts, workshops and conferences
Got an event, conference or webcast you want announced in our newsletter? Email us! Also be sure to check out the following event listings:
- Redmond Channel Partner’s calendar of upcoming Microsoft conferences for partners, IT pros and developers.
- Past and upcoming Windows Events from Microsoft.
- TechRepublic’s 2022 tech conferences and events to add to your calendar (oops, gotta update this!)
- FOSS Force’s list of upcoming Open Source Events.
Got comments about anything in this issue?
Email us! We love hearing from our readers!
Meet the Editors!
MITCH TULLOCH is Senior Editor of WServerNews and is a widely recognized expert on Windows Server and cloud technologies. He has written more than a thousand articles and has authored or been series editor for over 50 books for Microsoft Press and other publishers. Mitch has also been a twelve-time recipient of the Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) award in the technical category of Cloud and Datacenter Management. He currently runs an IT content development business in Winnipeg, Canada that produces books, ebooks, whitepapers, case studies, courseware, documentation, newsletters and articles for various companies.
INGRID TULLOCH is Associate Editor of WServerNews. She was co-author of the Microsoft Encyclopedia of Networking from Microsoft Press and collaborated on developing university-level courses in Information Security Management for a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) program. Ingrid also manages Research and Development for the IT content development business she runs together with Mitch.
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IT Workshop – tools, guides and useful stuff
Got a product or solution or some other resource you’d like to tell our readers about? Email us!
Our TOOL OF THE WEEK is Kerio Connect from GFI. This mail server and an all-in-one collaboration tool is designed specifically for small-to-medium sized businesses (SMBs) and has been deployed by more than 30-thousand companies around the world!
Purple Knight can help you uncover vulnerabilities in your Active Directory environment and lock down attack paths before the attackers gain control.
Here are some tools from IgniteTech that can help you grow business:
- ResponseTek collects and aggregates customer experience, demographic, journey and behavior data to monitor and improve customer experience in real time.
- SalesBUILDER lets you quickly and accurately assemble and price deals that move more efficiently through the pipeline.
- SLI Systems lets you create customer experiences that drive purchases.
Tips and Tutorials
Got tips or tutorials you’d like to recommend for our readers? Email us!
Security is on everyone’s mind these days, so let’s look at some tips and tutorials in this area:
What Are Email Spam Filters and Why Do You Need Them? (TechGenix)
5 Must-Have Email Security Policies for Your Business (TechGenix)
Why You Should Implement a Banned Password List (Compass Security Blog)
The Security Pros and Cons of Using Email Aliases (Krebs on Security)
How to Securely Erase an SSD or HDD Before Selling It or Your PC (Tom’s Hardware)
Are Default Passwords Hiding in Your Active Directory? Here’s how to check (Bleeping Computer)
Pass-the-Hash Attacks and How to Prevent them in Windows Domains (Bleeping Computer)
Use Authentication Policies to Fight Password Spray Attacks (Exchange Team Blog)
SSL VPN to Secure Your Organization: Everything You need to Know (TechGenix)
Cloud Data Security: A Complete Guide to Secure Your Cloud Data (TechGenix)
Freebies and Factoids
…will come back next week when our brain returns to normal. We’re still experiencing low blood sugar after eating too much shortbread 😛
Fun videos from Flixxy
Although it’s only January we know that all of you are longing for spring…
A Spring Timelapse – Quebec, Canada – A beautiful spring timelapse in the Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada.
http://www.flixxy.com/spring-timelapse-quebec-canada.htm
Adorable Critters Captured On Hidden Spy Cam – All across the country, animals are kicking it into high gear as spring progresses and temperatures begin to climb.
https://www.flixxy.com/adorable-critters-captured-on-hidden-spy-cam.htm
Mars Springtime 2020 (Animation) – Mars during springtime of the year 2020. Created for a contest using Carrara Studio software.
https://www.flixxy.com/mars-animation-springtime.htm
The Beatles – Here Comes The Sun – Official Video – 2019 Mix – The Beatles “Here Comes The Sun” official video released for the 50th anniversary of their ‘Abbey Road’ album.
https://www.flixxy.com/the-beatles-here-comes-the-sun-official-video-2019-mix.htm
And Finally
The odd, the stupid and the remarkable. Good for your mental health.
Zoom Shares Plunge 90% From Peak As Pandemic Boom Fades (Reuters)
https://www.reuters.com/business/zoom-shares-down-90-peak-pandemic-boom-fades-2022-11-22/
[They should have called it “Whoooshhh!”]
HP Will Cut Up To 6,000 Jobs Over Next Three Years (Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2022/11/22/hp-will-cut-up-to-6000-jobs-over-next-three-years
[Wow I’m surprised that what’s left of HP even has 6000 jobs to get rid of!]
Programming languages: It’s time to stop using C and C++ for new projects, says Microsoft Azure CTO (ZDNET)
[What about C#?]
NASA Is Planning To Find Aliens Using Spacetime Warped Around the Sun [Vice Motherboard]
[Reminds me of a joke that science fiction author Isaac Asimov once told somewhere in his autobiography, IIRC it went something like this:
Russian, American, and Israeli scientists were talking together one day. The Russian said, “We were the first to go into outer space!” The American replied, “Well, we were the first to land on the moon!” The Israeli said, “So what? We are going to be the first to land on the sun!” The Russian and the American shook their heads and said, “You can’t land on the sun, you idiot! You’ll burn up!” The Israeli replied, “We’re not stupid, you know, we’re going to do it at night!”
P.S. Isaac Asimov was my hero when I was a kid, I read all his science fiction and many of his nonfiction books on science. I wanted to be like him when I grew up—he wrote more than 500 books in his lifetime—but I gave up after writing about one-tenth that many as writing a lot of books can be hard on your eyes! What’s your favorite science fiction author? Let me know!]
Hey reader! Got an amazing or weird or funny link you’d like to suggest for this section of our newsletter? Email us! But please make sure that it’s G-rated as in “Gee whiz”, “Golly!”, “Good grief!”, “Gaaahh!!” and so on. Thanks!
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