As a system admin, I like to think that I'm pretty savvy when it comes to online security. However, it never hurts to look at some current recommendations as a refresher and maybe pass on a link or two to family and friends regarding ways to prevent fraud, theft and other online ills.
Visit the STOP. THINK. CONNECT. campaign or Microsoft's Cyber Security web page for tips on staying aware and secure online.
Check out my previous security posts for some of my thoughts on cyber security. What are your recommendations for friends and family when they ask you about online security?
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
PowerShell... Now Less Daunting
Last Friday, I had the luxury of attending another PacITPros TechDays... It was all about PowerShell. Jason Helmick taught in SF and in the East Bay. Both days were completely packed. PowerShell IS where Windows is going for administration.
If you haven't had the chance to listen to Jason talk about PowerShell, you are missing a great chance to learn how to use it. Jason is fun, upbeat and knows his stuff. Check out his blog (http://www.jasonhelmick.com/) for more about PowerShell. He might just mention where he'll be speaking next.
So what did I take away from the class?
1) Learn this: get-help
Seriously, it's ALL about RTFM. Learn it, love it, learn how to use it. It's all there.
2) Don't type this: get-service | stop-service
PowerShell can give you a bunch of ways to make your job easier and another bunch of ways to screw up big time. Read and comprehend before you press enter. PowerShell doesn't ask if you are sure.
After 8 hours of lecture and labs, Jason didn't teach us the "Top 10 PowerShell Commands for Administering Windows". We didn't walk out of class with a handout of the everything we'd need to know. Quite the contrary. Jason taught us where to find what we needed and how to figure out if whatever we were trying to do would work or not. And that is really all you need to be comfortable with the command line of the future for Windows.
If you haven't had the chance to listen to Jason talk about PowerShell, you are missing a great chance to learn how to use it. Jason is fun, upbeat and knows his stuff. Check out his blog (http://www.jasonhelmick.com/) for more about PowerShell. He might just mention where he'll be speaking next.
So what did I take away from the class?
1) Learn this: get-help
Seriously, it's ALL about RTFM. Learn it, love it, learn how to use it. It's all there.
2) Don't type this: get-service | stop-service
PowerShell can give you a bunch of ways to make your job easier and another bunch of ways to screw up big time. Read and comprehend before you press enter. PowerShell doesn't ask if you are sure.
After 8 hours of lecture and labs, Jason didn't teach us the "Top 10 PowerShell Commands for Administering Windows". We didn't walk out of class with a handout of the everything we'd need to know. Quite the contrary. Jason taught us where to find what we needed and how to figure out if whatever we were trying to do would work or not. And that is really all you need to be comfortable with the command line of the future for Windows.
Friday, August 17, 2012
So what's been fun on the Internet lately?
First up, in case you missed out on some of the new things from Microsoft, Windows 8 and Server 2012 are coming soon! When you have some free time, start learning more about Server 2012 or take a close up look at Windows 8. You can even download a 90-day trial of the new desktop client.
And here are some other links to some fun things I've seen online, mostly via Twitter:
- 10+ Most Dangerous Species of Help Desk Callers
- Kids Explain Why We Should Use the Internet - where were you in 1995?
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Handy Windows 7 GPO Policies
The official roll-out of Windows 7 has begun in my office. We are doing a round of hardware refreshing for some end users and with that comes Windows 7 and Office 2010. Here are a couple handy GPO settings we've used to make our lives easier.
Verbose Startup and Shutdown - by default, Windows 7 will just display "please wait..." while it handles it's startup and shutdown processes. If you find the verbosity of Windows XP handy, likely displaying the name of software that's being installed automatically, you'll want to change use these policies.
Computer Configuration - Policies - Administrative Templates - System - Verbose vs normal status messages = Enabled
Computer Configuration-Policies - Administrative Templates - System - Remove Boot / Shutdown / Logon / Logoff status messages = Disabled
Let Users Install Printers - Windows 7 increased security and UAC will prompt standard users for administrative credentials before adding a printer because the driver store is a protected area. If running around to help every user who's trying to add another network printer isn't your cup of tea, try these policies to give the standard user a little bit more power.
Computer Configuration - Policies - Administrative Templates - Printers - Point and Print Restrictions = Disabled
User Configuration - Policies - Administrative Templates - Control Panel - Printers - Point and Print Restrictions = Disabled
Verbose Startup and Shutdown - by default, Windows 7 will just display "please wait..." while it handles it's startup and shutdown processes. If you find the verbosity of Windows XP handy, likely displaying the name of software that's being installed automatically, you'll want to change use these policies.
Computer Configuration - Policies - Administrative Templates - System - Verbose vs normal status messages = Enabled
Computer Configuration-Policies - Administrative Templates - System - Remove Boot / Shutdown / Logon / Logoff status messages = Disabled
Let Users Install Printers - Windows 7 increased security and UAC will prompt standard users for administrative credentials before adding a printer because the driver store is a protected area. If running around to help every user who's trying to add another network printer isn't your cup of tea, try these policies to give the standard user a little bit more power.
Computer Configuration - Policies - Administrative Templates - Printers - Point and Print Restrictions = Disabled
User Configuration - Policies - Administrative Templates - Control Panel - Printers - Point and Print Restrictions = Disabled
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
What's A Techie To Do?
Or rather, what have I been up to lately?
Been doing a lot of "spring" cleaning at the office. Trying to tie up loose ends on lots of little projects.
1) Upgrading Shoretel - I've been using Shoretel since Shoretel 5. We've been through several upgrades since then and last week moved to Shoretel 12.3. We have a fabulous reseller that did most of the work for me. Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and watch the magic. The trickiest part was getting the MSI file for the new desktop software, Shoretel Communicator, out of the setup file so I could deploy it with a GPO. This guy had a good blog post that helped me out.
2) Removal of Exchange 2003 - Back in October I migrated our mail to Exchange 2010 SP1. Our old server had going through several stages of being decommissioned and had been left turned off for several months as other more pressing project got to me. I finally turned it back on and ran the setup program to remove it. It didn't go completely flawlessly, but most issues were resolved by fixing a few public folder replication issues and then deleting the server from the Exchange 2003 ESM.
3) Training for Windows 7 and Office 2010 - We have finally reached the point where we are doing a bunch of hardware refreshes for staff in the office. That means moving from XP / Office 2007 to Windows 7 and Office 2010. I'm not doing the hardware deployments, but I'm responsible for providing basic training to the staff so they are prepared for some of the changes that will come. My first two sessions were this week and I concentrated a lot on the new start menu and taskbar in Windows 7. Also, Outlook 2010 has quite a few navigation changes that are notable.
4) De-cluttering My Desk - While not a super-techie endeavor, it needed to be done. I trashed piles of CDs and DVDs of very dated software, including diskettes for installing Windows 2000 Server. Diskettes!! Ah!! If anyone is looking for the DVD to install Windows 95, I'm your girl. I'm hanging that in my cube for decoration.
Been doing a lot of "spring" cleaning at the office. Trying to tie up loose ends on lots of little projects.
1) Upgrading Shoretel - I've been using Shoretel since Shoretel 5. We've been through several upgrades since then and last week moved to Shoretel 12.3. We have a fabulous reseller that did most of the work for me. Sometimes it's nice to just sit back and watch the magic. The trickiest part was getting the MSI file for the new desktop software, Shoretel Communicator, out of the setup file so I could deploy it with a GPO. This guy had a good blog post that helped me out.
2) Removal of Exchange 2003 - Back in October I migrated our mail to Exchange 2010 SP1. Our old server had going through several stages of being decommissioned and had been left turned off for several months as other more pressing project got to me. I finally turned it back on and ran the setup program to remove it. It didn't go completely flawlessly, but most issues were resolved by fixing a few public folder replication issues and then deleting the server from the Exchange 2003 ESM.
3) Training for Windows 7 and Office 2010 - We have finally reached the point where we are doing a bunch of hardware refreshes for staff in the office. That means moving from XP / Office 2007 to Windows 7 and Office 2010. I'm not doing the hardware deployments, but I'm responsible for providing basic training to the staff so they are prepared for some of the changes that will come. My first two sessions were this week and I concentrated a lot on the new start menu and taskbar in Windows 7. Also, Outlook 2010 has quite a few navigation changes that are notable.
4) De-cluttering My Desk - While not a super-techie endeavor, it needed to be done. I trashed piles of CDs and DVDs of very dated software, including diskettes for installing Windows 2000 Server. Diskettes!! Ah!! If anyone is looking for the DVD to install Windows 95, I'm your girl. I'm hanging that in my cube for decoration.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
-small.jpg)
