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Hope This Helps - A Tech Podcast

42 Episodes

47 minutes | Dec 13, 2021
HTH0042: You had me at Graph, You lost me at API
Error messages, meeting etiquette, MFA improvements and concerns, PowerShell with MS Graph, PowerShell Crescendo, random PowerShell things, in a short-but-packed episode! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com =====Boot-up===== BSoDs and error messages Phrases I don't wanna hear anymore: "Thank you for your time." Microsoft Teams - Send praise to people Better meeting etiquette The stigma against accepting a meeting as "tentative" Accepting and not sending a response Shower thought: There should be a "Mute Mic AND Turn Webcam Off" button in Teams Parasocial relationships Real-time followup: There's a PowerToy for it! Go check it out. Microsoft Authenticator improvements Suspected Russian Activity Targeting Government and Business Entities Around the Globe =====PowerShell Drunk Jawer (it's like a Junk Drawer shut up)===== Microsoft Graph PowerShell got way easier + Azure AD Temporary Access Pass Tiff asks: Why are Enterprise Apps and App Registrations in two different places? Azure AD security attributes Microsoft Graph API: The dangerous line between script writer and developer. It's a high barrier of entry to a non-developer. Graph PowerShell Module The Ups and Downs of Connecting to the Microsoft Graph Using the PowerShell SDK Installing modules in PowerShell 7 vs Windows PowerShell (admin level vs user) PowerShell Crescendo Release Candidate - But why JSON? What's wrong with advanced functions? PowerShellGet 3.0 Preview 12 - More useful for developers developers developers? Global variables in PowerShell 7 are funky if you use -UseWindowsPowerShell with import-module Make test accounts with this one simple trick! 1..300|%{$_} Correction: This technically isn't an array Range Operators in PowerShell Always make your functions return psobjects containing data. It's better for you, the environment, and your pets. =====“Unplanned Outage” (Sponsor section - “Hope this Helps is helped by…‘)===== The rewind button. Be sure to rewind this podcast when done listening so the next person doesn't have to =====Outro - "Plus Delta"===== Montero (Call Me by Your Name) We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
66 minutes | Nov 5, 2021
HTH0041: This is Commander Bezos' Land
Microsoft Ignite 2021 hot takes! Multi-Cloud MultiBall, Loop, Teams, Viva, PowerShell install variations, and Zune on macOS! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com ===Boot-up=== We help this hopes ===Microsoft Ignite 21H2=== Defender madness - so many confusing name changes! Multi-Cloud MultiBall "Now, native support for multicloud environments is available through the extension of Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and Cloud Workload Protection capabilities to Amazon Web Services (AWS)."…Do other clouds actually want Microsoft to butt in? Actual quote from someone (Mary Jo Foley?) at Microsoft: "It's like a Big Mac: Have it Your Way" Tiff's experience working at Wendy's LOOP THERE IT IS Does it replace OneNote?? (No) Does it replace Whiteboard? (Maybe?) Clarification: Loop is an Office app. The feature imparity between Windows and Mac versions of certain Office apps MS Roadmap updated and has moved MS Teams connect to March 2022, I just want shared channels. Speed/ease of use - When people choose illogical/unexpected solutions Remember Viva? PowerShell's store version versus the standalone MSI version Frustrating differences between them VS Code integration for Store version is off Running as a different user can get hairy Just install the MSI version, the Store version is annoying Installing PowerShell on macOS via HomeBrew is fantastic ===This is the way=== Microsoft presents for a long time about why passwords suck Types of Passwordless auth Unlock your Mac with your Apple Watch iOS Security Guide - Page 8 - Passcode supersedes biometrics at first boot Are passwords and policies truly worthless? Counterpoint: They have their place in the correct use cases. ===State of the Zunion=== Steve's attempts to get Zune working on macOS Big Sur --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
52 minutes | Oct 23, 2021
HTH0040: Don't Fork Your Parent
The Apple Event, Windows 11 features, Defender for Endpoint updates, Docker, Terraform, and fingers! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Note: Our apologies for wavering audio quality, we had some technical difficulties again! The Fork-Up -Don't Fork your Parent -Finger Boot-up -Apple Creates the World's Best Computer...of 2009? New Macbook pro has real ports -The Surface event Win 11 -Vista 2.0? Not really -Windows 11 WSL 2 is almost as quick as running Linux natively -Installing Wine using Homebrew on macOS Player One DFEated -Defending Windows Server 2012 R2 and 2016 -"The solution does not use or require the installation of the Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA)." -There's an installer now! -So what about Server 2012 support? More Apple things -Apple Music "Voice Plan" - Bad for accessibility. What about those who are mute? Inconvenience for a lower price? -Pumpkin HomePod Hope This Helps Tip of the Something -Don't sudo rm -rf your docker storage folder -Things that may happen: -Images gone -Errors trying to update containers -If a container is restarted it will not come back -Portainer will explode -You'll have to rebuild all your docker-compose stacks in Portainer (hope you had a backup) Terraform -Tiff's experience with WSL + Linux + Docker + Terraform -Enabling Virtualization in AMD BIOS is oddly esoteric -F7 for Advanced Mode - CPU Configuration - SVM Mode - Enabled - Guide --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
79 minutes | Sep 19, 2021
HTH0039: Crotch-Punching Security Vulnerabilities
Microsoft Exams, Passwordless login, Identity and Access Management, Microsoft 365 landmines, and more! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Note: Our apologies for wavering audio quality, we had some technical difficulties! Boot-up     Delilah     Human Robots + Cyborgs     Remember on-premise? There's a cert for that     Microsoft exams are hard!     Passwordless login     New identity partnerships and integrations to accelerate your Zero Trust journey     Metroid: Other M and Privileged Identity Management     DEFCON Patch Alerts It's like the French Toast Alert System for patches     Apple zero-day vulnerability     Update/correction: Snow Leopard was last updated in early 2016 just so you could jump to a newer version of OS X in the Mac App Store.     Update/correction: Steve meant the 2010 Macbook Air's ability to run Catalina, not the 2011 one.     Bo Burnham's "Inside" Various M365 landmines to be aware of     Via Joe Stocker (@ITguySoCal)     We go over almost everything listed here: https://twitter.com/ITguySoCal/status/1431734989792563201 M365 vs O365 vs Azure     Some things are the same between the two     Where do they link/not link?     Two user portals     Things change and documentation isn't always updated     Exchange Online's dual portals     Exchange scripts/Documentation still referencing Skype for Business That is Accurate     SSH and Secure Shell have the same amount of syllables --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
60 minutes | Sep 9, 2021
HTH0038: Complain-O-Meter
Outlook Web Access, Scrum, Windows Admin Center complaints, Defender for Endpoint complaints, and the world of InfoSec, among other things! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot-up     OWA Suggested Pre-reads on meeting reminders, interesting idea     Not mad, just disappointed: Cloud shell kinda sucks, I'm complaining about it     Set-MSOLUserLicense is going away     The importance of learning programming/scripting/CLI/DevOps, Infrastructure-As-Code, etc.     Steve figures out git branching     Scrum, orgs adapting to agile, etc Windows Admin Center annoys me immensely, but it does work I guess     Ongoing follow-up from HTH episode 20 and 24 regarding WAC     Stupid little things, some complaints from HTH0020 are still in play     Remote PowerShell feature is really picky (and buggy)?     Must specify credentials in a certain way     UserVoice pages are 404'd in documentation     Speed/efficiency issues     Can't do advanced things like take ownership of registry keys or values, still need regedit to do that     Semi-related: Manage Active Directory Objects with the New Windows AD Provider for HashiCorp Terraform Defender for Endpoint device inventory/search/dashboards/reports could be better     I wish it would support wildcard searches     Is really picky about exact matches     Duplicate/misleading entries: Workgroup vs domain     Removing a device other than waiting for it to age out?     Fix unhealthy sensors in Microsoft DFE     Reordering columns isn't possible     Have to stretch out the browser window across multiple monitors to get full width     Entire interface is inefficient, sort of like WAC InfoSec - The new Sysadmin     CISO MindMap 2021: What do InfoSec Professionals Actually Do?     How To Get A Job in Cybersecurity     Look at all this stuff!     Are they actually sysadmins?     What IS a sysadmin? The OWA Experience     Missing UI elements     Flagged items in a sidebar     Has a "To Do" panel but it doesn’t include flagged items     Calendar flyout is not expanded by default     Categories (already discussed at length in our blog)     [old man complaint] Forward as Attachment is different     GMU.edu guide on how to do it in OWA     Meeting notifications aren't prominent/obnoxious enough     No unread "group by folder" view     Can't add an Office 365 Group as a favorite like you can in Outlook     Table management in OWA email composition is bugged     Can't set specific to-do dates for flagged items? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
72 minutes | Jun 30, 2021
HTH0037 - East from Weast
Windows 11 is a thing, Solarwinds is still a thing, Zune is still a thing, PowerBI regional migrations, and Windows 10 learns a new trick. Hope This Helps is back! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Pre-Boot     Windows 11 and the TPM     Golf is boring, unless it's mini-golf     LinkedIn is like the golf course of the internet Boot Up     Tiff and Steve's desktop computers, Macs     Proof of Work vs Proof of Stake     Solarwinds hacks + version number madness         Get them on the payroll!         Remember LulzSec? / LulzSec Leader 'Sabu' Flips on Friends for FBI         Orion web console tells you one thing in the web console, Database Manager tells you something different         Version number schemes don't line up…Product Upgrade Advisor uses YYYY.MM based versions while the database still uses legacy 12.x version schemes     What the heck is Bonjour?         Bonjour chat         Barrier uses Bonjour to find other Barrier nodes     Windows 11 phone integration         Android apps     Gripes about macOS Catalyst/"Project Marzipan" apps being half-baked     macOS uses Home/End keys wrong     More Windows 11 thoughts         Windows 11 will require TPM 2.0, UEFI, and Secure Boot         Surface Studio 2 can't run Windows 11         People is Removed     Brief tangent on disconnecting from social media/cloud services/Windows State of the Zunion     Elon Musk's tweet     Steve's Zune-to-M3U-to-AirSonic PowerShell script for playlists PowerBI data migrations + general cloud frustrations     Configure Multi-Geo support for Power BI Premium     Originally you could only pick one region, but more options expanded over time     Egress costs are expensive - On-prem datacenters wouldn't see these OpEx costs     It's a headache when moving regions     MS can sometimes even lose your data during a regional migration? Out-GridView is temporarily (?) dead (on Mac/Linux)     No more work is being done on Avalonia-based Out-GridView until we move to .NET MAUI     Let's talk about how great Out-GridView is on Windows and how nobody knows about it Windows 10 News (literally)     The new Windows 10 taskbar "News and interests" widget     Why exactly was this shoved into a cumulative update? This is a new feature.     Disabling "News and Interests" causes entire notification area to go blank     The actual content is low quality --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
72 minutes | Apr 16, 2021
HTH0036 - Just Shovel That Into My Face
Microsoft service disruptions, Exchange Plus Addressing, UserVoice, Ignite 2021 Recap, Defender for Endpoint, Zune, Outlook Signatures, and more! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot Up     What even are NFTs, anyway? Nobody knows.     Blog post about PSWindowsUpdate and Outlook Categories     Outages + Microsoft lying about service issues     Exchange Plus Addressing     An SMTP email address uses the basic syntax: <local-part>@<domain>. For example, sean@contoso.com. Plus addressing uses the syntax: <local-part>+<tag>@<domain>. For example, sean+newsletter@contoso.com. Use case: newsletters, junk email, alternate smtps that users can handle on their own     Replying to individual messages in any chat coming to Teams     Microsoft breaks Win10 thrice in one month     No more UserVoice - A Loss For Words Ignite Recap     Mesh and bubbles     Inna-Gadda-Da-Viva Baby     MARKETING “Unplanned Outage” (Sponsor section - "Hope this Helps is helped by…")     "No Hello" Defender for Endpoint "Deef"     The portal changed to https://security.microsoft.com/machines from https://securitycenter.windows.com/machines     Bug in a Defender/SCEP GPO     Server 2012 is in extended support till 2023, so why is it excluded from DFE while 2008 R2 is still supported?     Correction: The PowerEdge 2850 can run 2012 but not 2012 R2. Steve got the model number wrong. State of the Zunion     Fix Zune software native video conversion! Swap out wmvcore.dll with the 1511 version.  Outlook Signatures are still a nightmare     Organization-wide message disclaimers, signatures, footers, or headers in Exchange Online Parting Words / “Unplanned Outage” (Sponsor section - "Hope this Helps is helped by…")     "Consider your environment before printing this podcast" Outro - "Plus Delta"     We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
37 minutes | Feb 26, 2021
HTH0035 - Where Is My Year Of Yammer?
Yammer and Defender for Endpoint Rants in a quick Midlife Crisis episode of Hope This Helps! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot Up MS Ignite Part 2 Look up CVEs faster with MsrcSecurityUpdates PowerShell Module https://aventistech.com/kb/get-latest-cve-from-msrc-with-powershell/ February patches were bad KB4601392 bad Microsoft said that the erroneous  servicing-stack update (KB4601392) froze installations for the  “Cumulative Update” from the recent Windows Update. This resulted in the  installation for the update halting at 24 percent. KB5001078 good Hear annoying children better in an upcoming Teams "Satin" audio update New PowerShell blog coming Yammer Where is my #YearOfYammer? MS Defender for Sanity's Endpoint Defender for Endpoint (Formerly ATP) Onboarding documentation Let's start with the good: Microsoft Monitoring Agent (MMA) documentation is actually pretty good/straightforward. But after that, the info on antivirus becomes much less clear Why is there little to mention of the SCEP setup? Configure Endpoint Protection on a standalone client So I need SCCM no matter what? Even though I  can install SCEP with no policies? What if I don't have/want/need SCCM?  I thought the web console was the central management! "Configure the SCEP client Cloud Protection  Service membership to the Advanced setting" but the SCEP client has no  such settings. There's "send file samples automatically when further  analysis is required" and advanced Microsoft Active Protection Service  (MAPS) membership options. Are these the same…?? MS MVP Joe Stocker explains it better than MS in terms of what OS needs what in fewer words and links January 2017 anti-malware platform update for Endpoint Protection clients Why do I need to view the source code to see the KB number? (KB3209361) <meta name="awa-kb_id" content="3209361" /> Why is the KB not available on the Update catalog? Why do I need to use freakin PSWindowsUpdate to install this? That is Accurate PSWindowsUpdate lets you pick and choose which updates to install on Windows 10, Server 2016/2019. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
70 minutes | Feb 12, 2021
HTH0034 - The Hill I Like to Die On
Cloud service talk, modern workplace thoughts, DevOps versus ITIL, Docker Container of the Week, and a bunch more! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot Up     [Semi-off topic variety section] What kind of alcoholic beverage is each cloud service?     Azure=Tequila, the more you drink it, the more things change     The VibrationSensorHub Azure IoT lab     Zune Squirting - 3 Plays or 3 Days     Pronouncing Azure     WarHammer / Your state of being at work     AWS=Jim Beam?     Google=Bud Light     Our review of Super Bowl LV     The first 5G Super Bowl     iCloud=Heineken     The 5 minute rule prevails     Along with rubber duck debugging     No more old Edge - "Spartan Down"     CORRECTION: Brave is based on Chromium, and yes there are privacy concerns     Microsoft meddling with the hosts file     Viva las Dashboards     Workspace 365     Various grumblings about the whole idea Modern Workplace     Microsoft and the workplace of the future: How AI can help you build more productive relationships with your colleagues     Talking (mostly grumbling) about Yammer, Teams distractions     How far is too far?     Microsoft patented a chatbot that would let you talk to dead people. It was too disturbing for production Magsafe is back I guess, what are your thoughts?     Pacemaker compatibility issues DevOps versus ITIL     How to Win the Battle Over Change Management     "ING found it was able to modify ITIL to work within its new DevOps appr oach. “Don’t do everything the ITIL book says,” advised Jan-Joost Bouwman, ITSM process owner at ING. And yet, following ITIL for practices such as incident management are “still the best way to do it, because everybody knows what to do and you don’t get confused about the rules.”" Look at all this licensing     Get your fresh licensing maps at m365maps.com Docker Container of the Week     Plex vs Jellyfin     Plex's Privacy Policy (see the data collection sections) https://www.plex.tv/about/privacy-legal/     Recent Plex DDOS issue via SSDP https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2021/02/ddosers-are-abusing-the-plex-media-server-to-make-attacks-more-potent/     Slight correction: Plex started out as freeware Outro - "Plus Delta"     Lock the Taskbar https://youtu.be/WEWG6kSYqlY     We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
83 minutes | Feb 4, 2021
HTH0033 - Don't Let AI Be Yourself For Yourself
HTH Turns 1 year old! We catch up on cloud happenings, productivity score ethical debates, bad naming schemes, Solarwinds, M365 deathwatch, and more! Extended Show Notes available at https://hthpc.com ===Boot Up=== • HTH Turns 1 year old • M365 email forwarding dashboards aren't great • Productivity Score - Remember the human (stop being creepy) ○ Microsoft says no to Productivity Score for individual users ○ Concerns remain about Microsoft Teams employee analytics ○ Microsoft responded to the criticisms by anonymizing the data, and making other changes, but the truth is that the data is still being collected – it is simply no longer being packaged up as neatly for the use of managers. ○ Methods of focusing differ from person to person ○ Read Only Friday: Let’s not mess with people‘s eyes with webcam AI • Worst name - "Tasks By Planner and To-Do" ○ Xbox naming is awful • Flash is dead ○ HTML5 is not a replacement ○ Recent MacOS bugginess/nagging prompts • One More Outlook ○ The OneNote fiasco ○ Talking about email in general • Solarwinds/Solorigate • FiOS outage • 2021 IT predictions ○ DevOps/SysOps merge ○ More Hybrid ===M365 things dying in 2021=== • 2021 End-of-Support Milestone in Microsoft 365 ===Teams=== • Native notifications are coming ===State of the Zunion=== • Article from The Verge Zune's afterlife ===That is Accurate=== • You can float on air ===Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week=== ○ What is the current hot tech you should learn as a sysadmin? ○ Kubernetes, basically ===Outro - "Plus Delta"=== • We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes • We applied to be Ignite speaker moderators! --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
67 minutes | Dec 5, 2020
HTH0032 - Dangling DNS Domains
Control Panel is going away, SMS based MFA is bad, Project Management is good, SCCM/MEMCM payload tips, MS product name frustrations, and more! Extended Show Notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot Up     How are you?     Life Cereal     Giving up Control (Control Panel going away)         Alternate UWP Control Panel         GodMode: Make a new folder named GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}     Administrative Tools???     Tiff's Outlook for Mac New Experience Rant     AskWoody changing hands     Microsoft sez: No more SMS-based 2FA         NIST said this in 2016     Hope this helps! Bookmark this: Microsoft Portals https://msportals.xyz/     Dangling Domains PROJECT MANAGEMENT     PMO IS GOOD     Don't be afraid of failing projects When A Problem Comes Along, 7-zip it     Deploy SCCM/MEMCM/SMS Payloads better: Large applications with large size & many files? 7-zip it!     Include the 7-zip executable and DLL, and include a script to locally extract and THEN install. Microsoft's product names are annoying     Defender ATP is called what now?     Moffice 365?     Sharepoint Syntex? WTF is this Some new Teams Features     Timed statuses     Statuses from Skype for Business/Outlook (OOO/Invisible) That is Accurate     Tiff and Steve are Advanced Glasses Users Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week     What is the dumbest acquisition you can think of?     Microsoft buys OnlyFans and makes it a social network merged with Yammer Outro - "Plus Delta"     12/8/20 4pm Australian time - Tiff and Adam Fowler - How to Keep Up with Microsoft https://youtu.be/LqeNXx3cxTI     We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes     Send us a Tweet, or a Yam, follow us on OnlyFans --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
90 minutes | Nov 3, 2020
HTH0031 - It Went Live and No One Died
Long-winded rants about cybersecurity, Teams Updates, Google Play Music, and the future of IT. Other stuff too! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot Up     How are you?     Linode and OpenVPN connection attempts     Youtube-DL RIAA DMCA     YouTube Rolling Cypher     National Cybersecurity Awareness Month     ArnoldC - Get to the Chopper - "Program with your favorite Terminator"     October Teams Updates and other things     Where are break out rooms?     Why isn't Teams a Docker container or a PWA?     Office PWA Installs Caused by Microsoft Edge Bug     Still not 100% functional in Firefox     Outlook for Mac Preview features     OWA Light mode: Start on https://outlook.office365.com/owa/?path=/classic and Go to the cog in the top right and scroll down to "Mail" under "Your app settings." Expand "General" and select "Light Version," checking off "Use the light version of Outlook" and click "Save." Sign out, then sign back in, Light Mode should work. If you ever need to get out of Light mode, go to Options->Outlook Version, uncheck "Use the light version" and sign out/back in.     115 Million Users daily     MS Office Mouse and Trackpad support iPad Cybersecurity Awareness Month Fail: Nintendo     Nintendo Sez: Open up all your ports     "Within the port range, enter the starting port and the ending port to forward. For the Nintendo Switch console, this is port 1 through 65535." The IT DEEP STATE / State of the Zunion Combo Segment: RIP Google Play Music     2011-2020     Self-Host your music using LMS ITIL - Org Structure's and Ops     What do future IT orgs look like, and how should traditional Infrastructure and operations teams be shifting?     The relationship between infrastructure/ops/cloud/devops     Gartner Research: Evolve Your Infrastructure and Operations Organization to Remain Relevant in the Cloud Era     Saying yes to new ideas     Be the department of "yes" Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week     What should a truly accurate sysadmin job description be? --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
56 minutes | Oct 24, 2020
HTH0030 - Moo With Me
iPhone Event feelings, Microsoft 365 Outage feelings, Help Desk feelings, Therapy feelings, M365 Audit feelings…all kinds of feelings! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot Up     iPhone event     RIP Office 2010 and Exchange 2010 - Tombstone     Brief eulogy     Microsoft 365 won't support TLS 1.0 as of October 15 2020     Patch review for October 2020     Clarification: The 32-bit .msg Preview Pane issue is only for File Explorer:     "The Windows preview host requires a 32-bit application previewer. When 32-bit Outlook is installed, it acts as the previewer. Without 32-bit Outlook installed, there is no previewer available for .msg files." Microsoft 365-hours-of-downtime     (365 hours=15 days)     Speaking of dead: M365 goes down once again 10/7/20     Admin portal down again 10/14/20 for 4 hours     EX223890: Admins intermittently can't create or migrate mailboxes in Exchange Online     Happened AGAIN EX224151 (Started 10/13/20, ended 10/14/20, MS appeared to merge info with EX223890)     AGAIN! EX224497 - Admins are unable to migrate mailboxes to the Exchange Online service 10/19/20     EX224266 - Some users may be unable to send email messages     MO222734 (10/14/20) and MO224234 (10/14/20) - admin center down     MO224463 Admin Center health status down 10/18     Improve your change management ASAP!     What's their SLA, anyway?     Teams/Exchange Online SLA     Azure services SLA: Broken down by service (too many)     Biased towards Azure (measured against ALL Azure services)     "Multiply SLAs to determine overall SLA of the solution" What makes a good help desk?     If a customer says "The tier 1 people don't know anything" it's not a good help desk     "If I need something done, I know [which Tier 3 people] to ask" <--a bad sign that Tier 1 is failing     Foster confidence in the customer by having a great tier 1 that can actually do things     Is the best support person a Tier 2/3 employee?     Common sense and technical skill and customer service ability     ITIL and shift-left     Great documentation for self-service     Empower Tier 1 to get the customer to the answer The Therapy Angle     Feelings     Moo With Me Advanced Audit in Microsoft 365     Coming 2021     Now requires an additional license if you have 10 years or more of data Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week     Should Microsoft rebase Windows to Linux?     Linux Apps Coming to Windows     Correction: Linux apps are planned for the future but probably isn't a lock for the 20H2 update. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
61 minutes | Oct 8, 2020
HTH0029 - I Am A Single Core Brain
Outages, Microsoft Ignite reactions and feelings, Excel Vlookup is cool, a story about wifi, a new "That is Accurate," and Question of the Week! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot Up • SLACK OUTAGE • M365 outage ○ MO222965 - What is the point of posting this to a portal nobody can get to? ○ Root Cause Analysis posted • Ignite post-game show ○ Thoughts overall ○ NO SWAG! ○ Also the Vmware VMWorld post-game show within a show ○ Physical Ignite is so much better ○ Azure VMware Solution ○ Microsoft Announces Ignite, Part 2, is Happening in March ○ Exchange – Here, There and Everywhere - External Forwarding Command Center and Certificate-Based Authentication (CBA). On-prem Exchange now subscription only ○ PowerShell Unplugged - Challenge Edition ○ Taking your automation to the next level with PowerShell 7 ○ Microsoft Mechanics 2020 ○ RIP Defender ATP, new name Microsoft Defender for Endpoint ○ Video Hub • Random bug of the day ○ When using multiple Container tabs/accounts for the same website, Twitter/Anchor in Firefox seems to require a cached reload (CTRL F5) for likes/retweets/notification counts to clear. Anchor needs it for certain settings to save. ALL HAIL VLOOKUP • Why Vlookup ○ Say your master server inventory is inconsistent with your VMWare inventory, how do you find out what's missing? Vlookup • How Vlookup ○ Syntax: Source cell, Range to look up, column index, exact match (false most of the time) • Who Vlookup ○ People in a hurry • Where Vlookup ○ Say you are trying to merge multiple lists of data. How do you link them? Vlookup + copy + "Paste values" Declassified Sysadmin Stories: The impossible wifi project • (What happens when a sysadmin attempts a wifi project by himself) • Project was in 2016 • Replace ancient HP Procurve wireless infrastructure with Cisco infrastructure ○ ProCurve 420 and 530 WAPs ○ Rebootable via PoE, they frequently died • Perform tests all over campus, run scans, tests, learn a lot of about radios ○ Test with lights on, lights off, doors open/closed, microwaves, bathrooms, water, etc • Vistumbler, Airport Utility, RSSI • Carts with long cables • Limited number of Cisco APs (30 Aironet CAP1602i), not enough to cover the campus • MAC-Daddy registration for all standard wifi devices, ancient Linux box, student project from years past that became production • Learned all about RADIUS (NPS) • MAC registration for non-802.1x compliant devices ○ Test things like Zune HD, Wii U, Wii U in Wii Mode, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, 3DS, Android Tablets, TVs, etc ○ Visual Studio .NET app called MacDaddyJr - Form to CSV - PS Scheduled Task to create AD Users for MACs, add to group, change primary group • Manually build out two Cisco WLC 2500s for the APs to talk to + interface with parent company controller • Summer of wiring • Impossible fiber line repair: Line going from campus to building we didn't own with difficult owner to athletics building/hangar that was rarely used in the first place That is Accurate • Azure has the most Global regions than any other cloud provider  Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week • What is your favorite current piece of tech [wrong answers only]? Outro - "Plus Delta" • We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
65 minutes | Sep 24, 2020
HTH0028 - Monetizable Rage
Microsoft Ignite 2020 hype! iOS 14 Mail changes, software KVMs, Zerologon exploits, SSU/LCU follow-ups, Teams/Exchange Online Issues, stories about imaging computers, and a variety of other topics! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot Up • #MSIgnite 2020! • Steve hates sticky monitor edges ○ NSFW: Arm workout: The Denny's Grand Slam • Software KVMs: Synergy versus Input Director versus Mouse Without Borders ○ CORRECTION: Input Director still exists. • Denny's at 3am isn't THAT exciting but Ignite at Denny's is an option • iOS 14 Mail changes - "admin approval" needed • Enterprise application name (same ID) and permissions appear to have changed with iOS 14 • Supposed solution: update permissions to "re-approve" app or grant permissions for <org> • Or just use Outlook for iOS, it lets you accept calendar invites without sending a response! • Terrible places to put physical conference rooms (directly adjacent to bathrooms) • Changing app icons in iOS 14 via Shortcuts • Quick follow-up from HTH0025: CVE-2020-1472 has a proof of concept. Patch sooner rather than later. • Follow-up from HTH0027: SSU/LCU merge is not for Server OSes • Monetizable rage: Apple Watch AppleCare rant ○ Why do I have to send it in and wait for shipping? Why can't an Apple Store do it? ○ Had to wipe it before they would even ship the return box ○ 5 days of no watch for nothing • Losing the Exchange Online Lottery: "A very limited number of users may intermittently be unable to access Exchange Online via any connection method ID" - EX220974 • Delayed Teams messages • Phishing issues • DigiCert emails fail SPF? • MICROSOFT IGNITE final thoughts • The Bud Light Showtime Cam - feature people with better cameras/internet please • The LG VX8100 and Tiff's first phone Declassified Sysadmin Stories • Steve was hired for SCCM imaging • That one time Steve had to build an SCCM server from spare parts (PowerEdge 1950) • Imaging labs and classrooms with WDS/SCCM - Network congestion, Before and After • Image cleanup and optimization § What do you mean pushing out a 100GB+ image is insane? • Tiff went from imaging mac labs to an exchange admin That is Accurate • MAC is not the same as Mac • MAC Filtering and MAC randomization • Side note: Game Boy is two words, not one. • Lego versus Legos • An insane way to pronounce Symantec  Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week • What are some of your favorite free tools/utilities you use as a sysadmin? ○ Steve likes: VS Code, Windows Terminal, Everything, ShareX, RoboCopy, WinDirStat ○ My work computer -Tiff Outro - "Plus Delta" • We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes • We're on Amazon Music • Check out Steve's solo podcast (coming in October 2020 hopefully): Things Learned --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
61 minutes | Sep 14, 2020
HTH0027 - Don't Helicopter Daddy Me
Ignored Windows bugs, Apple vs Epic, updates and incidents across the Microsoft ecosystem, and Microsoft 365 E3 trials. Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot Up     It's conference season! Register for VMWorld/Ignite/anything! They're all online!     A modest list of bugs in Windows 10 that Steve submitted in the Feedback Hub that got ignored/no upvotes     Slow finger touch response time on Surface Pro 6 vs pen/mouse     Most files called "hosts" are removed by Windows Defender     System tray context menus pop up under the taskbar in Task View     Run box randomly won't remember history     Action Center cannot intake large quantities of notifications     Thoughts on Apple vs Epic Games HTH Update Corner     Ready the Bud Light Showtime Cam (not sponsored) - Teams NFL experiences     Linux file systems accessible in Win10 Insider Build 20211     Simplifying SSUs     Grab a copy of 2004, before the next big FU!     Touch-enabled File Explorer     Exchange Security Updates Sep 2020     CVE-2020-16875 for Exchange 2016/2019     Teams "new conversation" button so that one coworker can stop making a new thread any time they want to reply What did Microsoft hose this week?     EX221227 - "Admins may be unable to migrate some mailboxes"     Start time: 8/26/2020 7am UTC     End time: 9/8/2020 5:27pm UTC     Official Issue not posted until 5 days later…"Start time: August 31, 2020 6:38 PM"     "Root cause: A recent service update to Exchange Online caused issues with migration requests."     "We're reviewing our validation and update procedures to prevent issues like this from occurring in the future."     "Approximately 1.6 percent of migrations encountered this issue, and admins can now resume their migrations or restart those that encountered a failure."     TM221283 Users who are given control by a presenter during a Microsoft Teams meeting are unable to control the screen     "Depending on how impact is presenting itself for your organization, there are workarounds available. If no mouse or keyboard actions are working, users may click on one of the side rail items (such as Chat, Teams or Calendar) and then return to the meeting screen to mitigate impact. If a user has issues controlling the top of the screen, the sharer needs to move the shared app (such as a web browser or the Outlook client) down 40 pixels to mitigate the impact."     "We've determined that a recent service update is causing the problem."     "Our telemetry suggests that approximately three percent of meetings may experience impact." Setting up a Disposable O365 Training environment     30 Day O365 E3 Trials     Use cases: Demos, classes, need Office in a pinch     Be sure to clean up PII afterwards Outro - "Plus Delta"     We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
57 minutes | Sep 3, 2020
HTH0026 - Happy Monday On A Tuesday
Teams August updates, EXOL external forwarding changes, Patch survey results, M365 E5/A5 licensing, SYDI, separating work data from personal data, squeaky lobster, and more! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com We had a few audio glitches, apologies for the quality variance. Boot Up     Ever want to feel better about your day? IT blunder permanently erases 145,000 users' personal chats in KPMG's Microsoft Teams deployment     The name "KPMG" stands for "Klynveld Peat Marwick Goerdeler". It was chosen when KMG (Klynveld Main Goerdeler) merged with Peat Marwick in 1987.     Original goal: remove one user from the retention policy     What actually happened: "In the execution of this change, a human error was made and the policy was applied to the entire KPMG Teams deployment instead of the specific account"     Patch survey results     RE: Wine/Running Windows applications/games on non-Windows: Valve's Wine implementation on Linux is called Proton     Teams August Updates Forward March     M365 External Email Forwarding changes     Basically a follow-up HTH0010 and this     Transport rule vs. anti-spam policies     We are also moving to disable external forwarding by default so organizations are secure by default. The World of E5     So many new changes to the Security and Compliance Center     Defender for Android (it's also coming to iOS)     Best Practices We Built this SYDI on Rock and Rollllll     Use SYDI to document servers     GitHub page     Usage:     cscript.exe 'C:\sydi\sydi-server-2.4\sydi-server.vbs'     <At the prompt, Enter the server name (FQDN) you want to grab documentation on>     Also honorable mention to the AD Topology Diagrammer Separating work from twerk     Keeping work from personal endpoints     When it's okay to use a personal machine     Cloud-based stuff     Non-VPN resources     Keep internal network/on-prem to work-issued hardware     If using a personal system: Don't download; Use web portals when able!     The OneDrive debacle (syncing things to non-work systems)     When does your personal system become a work asset? That Is Accurate     Squeaky lobster is the name of a toy lobster in an MS Exchange love story, and would forever change MS influence MS product development. Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week     What is something you suck at as a sysadmin?     Steve's perpetually bad at subnetting     Tiff - anything networking (squee) Outro - "Plus Delta" We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes     We do weddings, we do funerals, first communions, post-incident reviews --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
54 minutes | Aug 23, 2020
HTH0025 - Do The Roll-Up
August Patch Tuesday review, Mozilla problems, Server 2012 Update issues/fixes, IE11 EoL, Teams bugs, Portable Exchange Servers, and a bevy of other topics! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot up ○ Post-mortem on why HTH0024 was a bit shorter than other episodes (YouTube Music) ○ Dark clouds at Mozilla ○ Threat management team laid off ○ Mozilla to refocus on its own commercial products ○ Google contract extended ○ CORRECTION: Thunderbird isn't exactly a community-only project. Some things have also changed, Thunderbird was transferred to MZLA Technologies Corporation from the Mozilla Foundation. ○ CORRECTION/MINI THAT IS ACCURATE: Gmail Launched 4/1/2004. ○ August Patch Tuesday plop ○ Circle the wagons: CVE-2020-1472 | Netlogon Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability…especially bad if you have 2008 R2 as a DC. Extended support needed for the patch, otherwise you need to mitigate. ○ "It’s rare to see a Critical-rated elevation of privilege bug, but this one deserves it," said ZDI’S Dustin Childs. "What’s worse is that there is not a full fix available." ○ Win10 2004 no longer searches online for Drivers by default ○ Server 2012 update checking/service being bonkers lately ○ Bye-E11 - M365 no longer supports IE 8/17/21 HOPE YOU'RE READY! ○ Will MS have ported over IE-exclusive SharePoint features (WebDAV "Open in File Explorer" links?) ○ Teams in the browser / Teams rant ○ Inconsistent/buggy notifications in Firefox ○ Photos not showing - UserVoice ○ Tiff returns to the land of Macs. ○ macOS Catalina didn't learn from Vista Exchange errors: Real or Fake? ○ Microsoft.Exchange.Data.Directory.SystemConfiguration.UnsupportedBrowser ○ Microsoft.Exchange.Data.Directory.SystemConfiguration.OverBudgetException ○ Microsoft.Exchange.Data.Directory.SystemConfiguration.OutOfMoneyException ○ Exchange 2019 System Requirements Declassified Sysadmin Stories: Pocket Exchange ○ That time Steve built a portable Exchange 2010 server ○ Purpose: Teach people Outlook in a pre-cloud era at onsite trainings ○ Dell Latitude D630 running 2008 R2…4GB(?) RAM Core 2 Duo ○ (A later version was a newer Precision M4700 laptop and/or Thinkpad X201 running 2012 R2) ○ Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V VM running Exchange 2010 ○ Exchange built according to a guide ○ Pre populate AD, users/mailboxes, and make fake sample content (e-mail, calendar events, etc) built to a Microsoft guideline ○ Server connected to a router, classroom laptops connect wirelessly (no internet access), static DNS manually set on laptops to point to router ○ Outlook configured on each laptop for a specific user ○ OOO wouldn’t work without massaging DNS/autodiscover, which needed manual fixing after restoring the snapshot every time (delete and re-add the autodiscover A record in DNS then bounce the DNS services) ○ A brief discussion on SPF, DKIM, and DMARC That Is Accurate ○ The Netscape ISP home page is still up. ○ Various internet nostalgia Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week ○ What was the worst password you ever created ○ What was your first password? ;) ○ Various computer nostalgia Outro - "Plus Delta" We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
45 minutes | Aug 12, 2020
HTH0024 - By Accidentally Good Enough
Windows Admin Center corrections, Win7 being actively exploited, Robocopy is amazing, ITSM/ITIL escalation tips and tricks for Tier 1/2/3, and more! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com/shownotes/HTH0024.html Boot up     WAC Corrections from HTH0020:     You can successfully add a group to the local administrators now it seems. When adding a user, enter the group in the syntax of "domainname\groupname"     Shared Connections pane now loads in Firefox it seems.     Salty Teams Logs     Patch KeePassRPC again - for additional protections (not as urgent)     FBI: Get off Windows 7 - Exploits being used in the wild     ...But who cares because there's Vulnerabilities Inside ™     Maybe Apple knew this in advance and that's why they're moving to ARM…     Discussion: Intel has really fallen behind in terms of progress     MS has had enough of the App Store rules - xCloud has been denied I <3 Robocopy     Differentials     Retries     Works over spotty VPNs     Logging     Multithread options     The /mir switch     robocopy "C:\myfolder\thingtocopy" "D:\destfolder\thingtocopy" /mir /eta     Why isn't this just default in the GUI? PowerToys?     The Color Picker tool was recently added, so why not this too? ITSM Escalation Do's and Don'ts:     Don't:     Escalate with no details     Leave Illegible notes     Leave too many useless notes (verbosity/extracurriculars/chat logs)     Promise impossible things to the customer     Escalate to a more expensive team if you can help it - "Minimize overall cost of support by resolving most issues with less costly resources and automation and filtering only the more complex issues to more expensive, less available support resources"     Tie up Tier 3 IT and prevent them from working on capital projects/etc.     Do:     Ask the dumb questions, no matter how dumb     Do the dumb things: Check the network, ping things     Take screenshots     Google it     If you think it might need approval, seek it out     Look good for promotion opportunities     Check AD (you probably have read access), pull logs That Is Accurate     "ALASKA" is the only geographical state whose name can be typed on the keyboard using only one row. Not accurate for AZERTY or DVORAK though. Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week     How do you organize your piles and piles of emails?     CORRECTION: Exchange Rules Quota range is 32KB to 256KB     Gmail labels vs Outlook categories vs Folders     It's too bad Microsoft doesn't consistently support categories --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
67 minutes | Aug 3, 2020
HTH0023 - MMMMMMMBasic Authentication
Happy Sysadmin Appreciation Day (at the time of recording at least)! Chicago PowerShell conference recap, KeePass vulnerability, M365 Basic Auth options, iCloud Drive gets roasted, WFH eating habits, Windows Patching heart-to-heart, and lots more! Extended show notes available at https://hthpc.com Boot up ○ Risky Linux Google Search: "killall man" ○ Chicago PowerShell Conference reactions ○ "PowerShell 7 works with everything" wellllll kinda sorta…. ○ Jeff Snover forgets to share his screen ○ VS Code PowerShell Notebook View - Sort of like JavaDoc? ○ PowerShellGet 3.0 / improvements to shell / "The rocket that is Visual Studio Code" ○ Function session ○ Should HTH do a conference? ○ Is there an easier way to tell who is presently in a Teams meeting? ○ Patch your KeePassRPC file now ○ M365/EXO: You can now easily enable/disable your crappy legacy auth! • Windows 10 is Windows 5 ○ Correction: Windows 7 was released 10/22/09, mainstream support indeed ended 1/14/20 • Let's rank the cloud providers - OneDrive/Dropbox/Google Drive/Box Sync/iCloud ○ iCloud Drive sucks, I gave it a chance and it flunked when I needed it most § Steve's KeePass database got messed up multiple times § Versioning is only really semi-there if you have a Mac § Web interface is unacceptable § Worse than every other cloud service, including Box Sync § Comparison: OneDrive treats you like a first class citizen on macOS, while iCloud Drive treats you with contempt on Windows. Hope This Helps Your Diet • Things to eat/drink while sysadmin-ing Windows Updates are a headache • What's your model for patching? • Staying back one cycle seems to be a good practice • Steve's experience in past jobs vs now (pre and post cumulative updates) • The Case Against Knee-Jerk Patching • Who is Susan Bradley? She keeps MS honest, and is the pulse of the patch community ○ RunAsRadio episode with Susan Bradley on Microsoft patch quality ○ Susan's open letter to MS in 2018 - Previous RunAs podcast about the same thing ○ Current example: Windows 10 2004 is a bit of a mess right now with 14 issues in "investigating" status. Compare it to 1909. Also reportedly causing issues with Office. ○ MS had to block Surfaces from getting 1803 (Source: above RunAs Radio episode), and now it's happening again with 2004 • Proper risk assessment is a sensible approach ○ If we don't patch, what is at risk? Can we mitigate? Do we need this patch? ○ If we do patch, what is at risk? Do we (+MS) know what could break? ○ Identifying undisclosed vulnerabilities by examining release notes/documentation That Is Accurate • The Firefox Logo is in fact not a fox. It is a Red Panda. Ask the Stiffs: Question of the Week • Do you prefer boring/informative server names or custom ones? ○ The case against names with spaces in them ○ "Macintosh HD" is a bad name for a hard drive Outro - "Plus Delta" • We help you, you help us: Rate us on iTunes --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app
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