Windows

As I recently migrated my Home Assistant instance to my good old Intel NUC, I needed a new media center. I also promised myself to buy a new Game PC after completing my bachelor’s study program while working fulltime. What if I could combine these two things together, while the screens are in different rooms? I spent lots and lots of time reading reviews about hardware. Luckily I still remember how to build a machine from back in the days, so I ordered the following parts: ...

**This week Microsoft quietly released some information about a new Azure solution called Azure Bastion. Azure Bastion acts as a gateway between a Virtual Machine in Azure and your session in the Azure Portal. This means that without assigning a Public IP address, you are able to connect to your Azure Virtual Machine through the Azure Portal. No Remote Desktop environment or jumpbox needed. Azure Bastion is currently in Private Preview.** Microsoft quietly released two YouTube video’s. ...

On Twitter I asked the following to David James (Director of Engineering, ConfigMgr, Microsoft) and Johan Arwidmark (CTO @ TrueSec): https://twitter.com/DevSecNinja/status/1024927840138145793 For example, I have 3 device collections in SCCM that I call: “Windows 10 Feature Updates - Test” “Windows 10 Feature Updates - Pre-Production” “Windows 10 Feature Updates - Production” With ADRs, that’s quite simple. Just add the deployment to the Software Update Group in SCCM and you’re done. But I was wondering if that is supported in the Servicing Plan scenario too, as with a Servicing Plan you define the amount of days it will take after a build release, before SCCM will deploy the feature update to the collection. ...

**With Windows 10 1607, Microsoft introduced Dual Scan functionality, which allows the computer to connect with Microsoft Updates besides using WSUS or SCCM. Steve Henry from Microsoft: “It is for the enterprise that wants WU to be its primary update source while Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) provides all other content.” I’ve seen various blog posts not covering all the steps I had to take to ensure Windows only looks to SCCM/WSUS. ...

**This error message is related to Device Guard Code Integrity in Windows 10 and shows up in the Event Viewer under the Code Integrity folder. As of writing this article, the error message is not described in online documentation of Microsoft.** In the current scenario, the built-in Windows 10 apps like the Calculator, Alarms & Clock or the Photos app will instantly crash after opening it. This error message tells that the sysfer.dll is not trusted by Microsoft and therefore cannot interfere with the Alarms & Clock app. ...

**With the Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft introduced Windows AutoPilot. Windows AutoPilot is a service which allows users to enroll their device with the Intune/Azure AD tenant of the organization during the Out-of-the-Box (OOBE) experience of Windows 10. By using Windows AutoPilot, organizations can dramatically decrease the time needed to configure a new device. During Microsoft Tech Summit 2018 in Amsterdam, Michael Niehaus announced some exciting new features which I will discuss in this blog post too.** ...

With Windows Servicing, Microsoft is forcing consumers and businesses to upgrade to a Windows 10 Build twice a year. Theoretically you could go for one build per year, but that forces you to upgrade to a new build within 6 months. Otherwise you will end up without support for the old build. This introduces quite some issues within both SMBs and large organizations. Recently a friend asked me about a recent printer that stopped working. ...

Lost track of the service channel naming of Windows and Office Servicing? Is it “Current Branch” or “Semi-Annual Channel” now?! Or Standard Release?! Windows 10: Ready: Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) Ready for Business: Semi-Annual Channel Office 365: Ready: Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) (Or [Targeted Release](http://Ready: Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) Ready for Business: Semi-Annual Channel)) Ready for Business: Semi-Annual Channel (Or [Standard Release](http://Ready: Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) Ready for Business: Semi-Annual Channel)) Last update: recently… :) Every day is a new day to change these again, so stay tuned!

**This article describes the licensing options you have when you want to deploy Windows Server Virtual Machines in Azure. It’s getting complicated when you start using the Hybrid Use Benefit solution, so always contact Microsoft or your licensing supplier. **Please note that I will not answer any licensing questions. Built-in Licensing for Windows Server This type of licensing is by-far the most easy to use but it can be an expensive solution. You deploy an Azure Virtual Machine from the Portal or PowerShell and the licensing costs are automatically included with the Virtual Machine costs. But what if you want to use your existing KMS licenses which you’ve bought with your Enterprise Agreement? Or you want to use Windows Server Standard licenses instead of Datacenter licenses? ...

**With the new Windows 10 Fall Creators Update, Microsoft finally added a built-in NAT Switch into Hyper-V! This gives Hyper-V Virtual Machines access to the computer’s network. **The new switch automatically assigns IP address to your Virtual Machines, so no need to run your own DHCP server anymore! In older versions of Windows 10, it was still required to create the Virtual Switch yourself, but this required static IP address assignment in the OS or the installation of a DHCP server. ...