WServerNews: You can kiss Windows 7 goodbye now

In this week’s newsletter

Netlogon changes a’coming! When domain-joined computers take a break. Using Teams vs. email. Check out Microsoft Learn. On being a remote worker. Need a legacy PC? Paste as text only in Microsoft Word. Floppy disks aren’t dead yet! Plus lots more — read it all, read it here on WServerNews!

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! And please tell others about WServerNews! It’s free and always will be free — and they can subscribe to it here. Thanks!!!

 

Got questions? Ask our readers!

WServerNews goes out each week 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? 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…

Netlogon changes a’coming!

A colleague recently pointed me to the following bulletin on the Microsoft Support website:

How to manage the changes in Netlogon secure channel connections associated with CVE-2020-1472

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4557222/how-to-manage-the-changes-in-netlogon-secure-channel-connections-assoc

The changes are being implemented due to a recently discovered elevation of privilege vulnerability in the current Netlogon service which you can read about here on the Microsoft Security Resource Center:

CVE-2020-1472 | Netlogon Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2020-1472

The Microsoft Support bulletin outlines how Microsoft will be phasing in security improvements in how Windows clients are authenticated with Active Directory domain controllers. These improvements will be introduced in two stages: an initial deployment phase using the patch released on August 11th, and an enforcement phase that will happen later on February 9th next year. The initial deployment phase will introduce a new group policy to allow non-compliant device accounts (those that use vulnerable Netlogon secure channel connections) to remain domain-joined, and Microsoft says that even when DCs are running in enforcement mode or after the Enforcement phase starts, allowed devices using this policy will not be refused connection to the domain.

That all sounded well and fine until I started digging into the Microsoft Support bulletin and examined the new group policy in more detail. The new policy introduced by the August 11th update is this:

Computer Configuration \ Windows Setting \ Security Settings \ Local Policy \ Security Options \ “Domain controller: Allow vulnerable Netlogon secure channel connections”

And according to the description of the policy in this Support bulletin, it is supported only on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 and later. And it DOESN’T explicitly say that the policy is supported on Windows 7.

Yikes!

So the way I read this (and I may be wrong) is that starting on February 9th, 2021 all your domain-joined Windows 7 computers (if your organization still has any of them running) will get kicked off the domain.

Now perhaps Microsoft will release an extended security update (ESU) for Windows 7 before then that will prevent that from happening. But what about businesses that have decided NOT to pay Microsoft for ESUs but get the Windows 7 patches they need from 0patch or some other third-party source? Or who simply have decided not to patch their remaining Windows 7 PCs at all after having considered all the risks involved?

Or maybe I’m getting my knickers in a twist over nothing and it’s all just a tempest in a teapot. After all, Windows 7 is built on the same code base as Windows Server 2008 R2, so if the new policy applies to Windows Server 2008 R2 then it probably applies also to Windows 7, right?

Well perhaps. But unless Microsoft updates their Support bulletin or says otherwise, there is no guarantee at the moment that your remaining Windows 7 boxes (if any) will still be on your domain come the morning of February 10th next year. In any case if you’re still running Windows 7 and haven’t developed a plan for finally getting off that platform, the time has definitely come for you to start getting serious about killing off Windows 7 permanently, finally and totally.

How do our readers interpret all of this? Will this policy change finally put the nail in the coffin for Windows 7? Or will Windows 7 continue living on its zombie existence? Email your thoughts to me at [email protected]

When domain-joined computers take a break

And speaking of domain-joined, the following post on the Core Infrastructure and Security blog of the Microsoft Technical Community describes in illuminating fashion what the impact can be of having domain-joined computers away from the corporate network for a period of time:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/core-infrastructure-and-security/secure-channel-expired-machine-account-password-concerns/ba-p/1333535

This may be especially relevant for many of us who have users way from the office and working from home during this time of pandemic.

Using Teams vs. email

Jamie LaPorte, Senior Collaboration Engineer at Planet Technologies, has given me permission to share the following infographic he created that explains how you can reduce the amount of email for your organization by using Microsoft Teams as an alternative:

Jamie also has a terrific blog you should check out here that has lots of other useful information and resources on Office 365, Microsoft Teams and general IT stuff:

https://www.jamielaporte.com/home

Check out Microsoft Learn

Also on the Tech Community site but this time from Thomas Maurer, Senior Cloud Advocate at Microsoft, comes this news about some new Microsoft Learn Modules for Azure and Windows Server IT Pros that are now available:

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/itops-talk-blog/new-microsoft-learn-modules-for-azure-and-windows-server-it-pros/ba-p/1583952?WT.mc_id=modinfra-6840-abartolo

On being a remote worker

Thomas Maurer also has an excellent post on his personal blog about how he manages the challenges of working remotely from his home office:

How I manage and plan tasks as a remote worker (Thomas Maurer)

https://www.thomasmaurer.ch/2020/04/how-i-manage-and-plan-tasks-as-a-remote-worker/

Working at Microsoft is challenging in ordinary times and I can only imagine how much harder it must be when you have to do it from home.

Need a legacy PC?

And finally, for those SMBs who still need a legacy PC or two for running centuries-old applications, industrial control processes, or playing an ancient version of Microsoft Solitaire, here’s a source where you can buy this kind of hardware, courtesy of reader Michael Hallsted:

https://www.nixsys.com/

So dust off those old ISA slot cards and dig out those old Windows 95 floppies from your closet and keep your business humming along. And don’t forget to call the blacksmith when your horse needs re-shoeing!

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!

 

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]

Paste as text only in Microsoft Word

The keyboard shortcut CTRL+V pastes text in the clipboard as it’s formatted. But what if you want to paste clipboard text as plain (unformatted) text using only your keyboard? Here’s how you can do this:

  1. Open Microsoft Word and select File | Options
  2. Select Customize Ribbon
  3. Click Customize beside Keyboard Shortcuts
  4. In the Categories box, select All Commands
  5. In the Commands box, select PasteTextOnly
  6. Click in the Press New Shortcut Key field and press CTRL+SHIFT+V
  7. Click Assign and then click Close

Now copy some formatted text (for example the title text from a webpage) to the clipboard by highlighting it and pressing CTRL+C, then switch to Word and press CTRL+SHIFT+V and the text will get pasted as text only.

 

Admin Toolbox

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

MailStore Server is an email archiving solution which helps you and your colleagues to find emails quickly – regardless of their age. Have a look at the vendor’s website to learn more:

https:/www.mailstore.com/en/products/mailstore-server/

Network Asset Tracker Pro gives you complete information about operating system, service packs, hotfixes, hardware, software and running processes on remote PCs:

http://www.misutilities.com/

This script calls a SQL Agent Job from another Job on a remote server in SQL Server:

https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Calling-a-SQL-Agent-Job-e6a64f1a

MHDD is a popular freeware program for low-level HDD diagnostics:

http://hddguru.com/software/2005.10.02-MHDD/

 

Factoid – Floppy disks aren’t dead yet!

Fact: Boeing 747s receive critical software updates over 3.5″ floppy disks.

Source: https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/10/boeing_747_floppy_drive_updates_walkthrough/

Question: When was the last time you used a floppy disk? And do you still have any kicking around your workplace or home?

Share your floppy reminiscences with us!

Email your answers to [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!

 

Conference Calendar

>> Got an IT conference or event happening that you’d like to promote in our newsletter? Email us at [email protected]

Connect IT – Aug 24-27 in Las Vegas, Nevada

https://www.connectit.com/

Data Center World – Aug 24-27 in San Antonio, Texas

https://tmt.knect365.com/data-center-world/

SharePoint Fest – Aug 24-28 in Seattle, Washington

https://www.sharepointfest.com/Seattle/

Infosecurity Belgium – Sept 9-10 in Brussels, Belgium

https://www.infosecurity.be/

SPTechCon – Sept 14-17 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

https://www.sptechcon.com/

Microsoft Ignite – Sept 21-25 (Virtual)

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ignite

VMworld – Sept 28 (Virtual)

https://www.vmworld.com/en/us/index.html

Black Hat – Sept 29 – Oct 2 in Singapore

https://www.blackhat.com/asia-20/

Infosecurity Denmark – Sept 30 – Oct 1 in Copenhagen, Denmark

https://www.infosecurity.dk/

Midwest Management Summit – Oct 11-15 in San Diego, California

https://mmsmoa.com/registration/mms-2020-midway-edition.html

European Cloud Summit – Oct 20-22 in Frankfurt, Germany

https://www.cloudsummit.eu/en/

European Azure Conference – Oct 27-29 in Nice, France

https://www.europeanazureconference.com/

Infosecurity Netherlands – Oct 28-29 in Utrecht, Netherlands

https://www.infosecurity.nl/

European SharePoint, Office 365 & Azure Conference – Nov 9-12 in Amsterdam, Netherlands

https://www.sharepointeurope.com/

DevOpsCon – Nov 30 – Dec 3 in Munich, Germany

https://devopscon.io/munich/

 

Podcast Corner

The Hybrid Workforce and Windows Update with Dave Backman (RunAsRadio)

http://runasradio.com/

The ‘What’s On Your Mind?’ Roundtable (Heavy Networking)

https://packetpushers.net/series/weekly-show/

VMworld 2020 Preview (Virtually Speaking)

https://www.vspeakingpodcast.com/

802.11k and 802.11v (Clear To Send)

https://www.cleartosend.net/

VMware – Operationalizing Innovation (The CTO Advisor)

https://www.thectoadvisor.com/podcast

DoJ gives Uber breach response one star (Risky Business)

https://risky.biz/netcasts/risky-business/

SkyNet Is Real (Microsoft Cloud IT Pro Podcast)

https://www.msclouditpropodcast.com/

IE11 & Legacy Edge on Death Row, Learning Pathways and More with Julie Turner (Microsoft Cloud Show)

http://www.microsoftcloudshow.com/podcast

The Start of Something Different, Part 2 (Windows Insider)

https://insider.windows.com/en-us/podcasts/

 

New on Techgenix.com

Review: Data recovery suite Stellar Toolkit for Exchange

Stellar Toolkit for Exchange is a suite of tools for repairing corrupt EDB, extracting Exchange mailboxes from backups, and more. Here’s our review.

https://techgenix.com/review-stellar-toolkit-for-exchange/

Infosec challenges and security overload syndrome: Symptoms and cure

Feeling overwhelmed by the constant challenges caused by a steady stream of infosec threats? Instead of taking a pill, try this remedy.

https://techgenix.com/infosec-challenges-symptoms-and-cure/

Manage Microsoft Teams quickly and easily with PowerShell

Has your company recently made the move to Microsoft 365? Here’s tips for admins on how to manage Microsoft Teams using PowerShell.

https://techgenix.com/manage-microsoft-teams-with-powershell/

Removing root role assignments in Azure using PowerShell

In this Azure Quick Tip, we have a fix for the error message “Role assignments created at root scope must be removed by using the command line.”

https://techgenix.com/removing-root-role-assignments/

Setting up static IP address for Linux: Easier than you think

Static IP address are important for an array of networking tasks. Here’s how to set up a static IP address when using Linux.

https://techgenix.com/static-ip-address-for-linux/

 

Fun videos from Flixxy

Jet Man Richard Browning’s Latest Flight Testing

British entrepreneur Richard Browning has re-imagined the future of manned flight.

https://www.flixxy.com/jet-man-richard-brownings-latest-flight-testing.htm

Mega Magic – Grand Illusion

International award-winning magician and mentalist Mike D’Urzo presents a new twist to a classic magic trick.

https://www.flixxy.com/mega-magic-grand-illusion.htm

Rooftop Match with Roger Federer

Roger Federer surprises the two girls playing tennis across rooftops in Italy during the lockdown.

https://www.flixxy.com/rooftop-match-with-roger-federer.htm

A Look Back To The 90s – Movie Supercut

A movie supercut that gives you a look back into the 90’s.

https://www.flixxy.com/a-look-back-to-the-90s-movie-supercut.htm

 

More articles of interest

How Kubernetes enhances DevOps practices

Kubernetes isn’t necessary for DevOps, and you don’t need a DevOps team to adopt Kubernetes container management. But, here are all the ways that these two are better together.

https://searchitoperations.techtarget.com/tip/How-Kubernetes-enhances-DevOps-practices?Offer=Content_Partner_OTHR-_2020August7_TG_A1

Microsoft contemplates new DaaS product, ‘Cloud PC’

Unexpected consumption costs mar companies’ adoption of the cloud. The reported Microsoft Cloud PC, with per-user pricing, could ease that issue.

https://searchvirtualdesktop.techtarget.com/news/252486704/Microsoft-contemplates-new-DaaS-product-Cloud-PC?Offer=Content_Partner_OTHR-_2020August7_TG_A2

Office 365 Advanced eDiscovery goes beyond search basics

Microsoft streamlines the efforts to find pertinent documents and other data with help from the artificial intelligence embedded in the platform’s analytics technology.

https://searchwindowsserver.techtarget.com/tip/Office-365-Advanced-eDiscovery-goes-beyond-search-basics?Offer=Content_Partner_OTHR-_2020August7_TG_A3

IT’s move to Azure drives Microsoft revenues skyward

The shift to remote work and accelerated cloud migrations during the pandemic have resulted in strong revenue growth for Microsoft. The company reported its Q4 earnings this week.

https://searchwindowsserver.techtarget.com/news/252486662/ITs-move-to-Azure-drives-Microsoft-revenues-skyward?Offer=Content_Partner_OTHR-_2020August7_TG_A4

 

Send us your feedback!

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

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