Active Directory: Bug in LDAP_MATCHING_RULE_IN_CHAIN-Abfrage?

Windows[German]It seems that there is a bug in Active Directory (AD) regarding query capabilities via LDAP_MATCHING_RULE_IN_CHAIN. This is supposed to resolve recursive groups and find users who are members. A blog reader contacted me about this and described the bug, but could not do any additional verification because a second AD is missing for testing. I'll post it, maybe other administrators can confirm.

Continue reading

Posted in issue, Software | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Parallels RAS licenses expire on April 24, 2023; reactivation required

Stop - Pixabay[German]Brief note for administrators who use Parallels RAS (Remote Application Server). If the "big bang" breaks out on April 24, 2023 because the Parallels RAS refuses to work, it's probably not your fault. It looks like the vendor "screwed up" the licenses as of April 22, 2023, so Parallels RAS will stop working on April 24, 2023. The licenses will need to be reactivated in order to use the product again.

Continue reading

Posted in Cloud, issue, Software | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Windows 10/11: Microsoft has published a fix for OOBE Bitlocker Bug

Windows[German]Microsoft does promote Bitlocker for encrypting drives under Windows. But there are always bugs that prevent encryption or allow third parties unauthorized access to encrypted drives. A Microsoft supporter has now revealed a case where Bitlocker is not enabled in the out-of-the-box (OOBE) phase of Windows installation. There are ways to work around this (yet very exotic) bug in Windows 10/11.

Continue reading

Posted in issue, Security, Windows | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence now with hash and URL search

Sicherheit (Pexels, allgemeine Nutzung)[German]Small addendum: Microsoft expanded its Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence (Defender TI) this week. Defender TI now includes functions that allow logged-in users to check file hash values. It also adds support for a URL search. This should allow security managers or security researchers to check whether URLs or files are malicious. Microsoft tries to counter Google's Virustotal, but requires a user login to use Defender TI.

Continue reading

Posted in Security | Tagged | Leave a comment

Nearly two-thirds of XIoT vulnerabilities remotely exploitable

Sicherheit (Pexels, allgemeine Nutzung)[German]From a security perspective, I think we're in for a disaster – I've had Claroty's State of XIoT Security Report: 2H 2022 for a few days now. It does show the positive impact of increased vulnerability research and increased vendor investment in XIoT security. But the message is also that number of vulnerabilities discovered has increased by 80% this readiness. Many XIoT vulnerabilities are also remotely exploitable.

Continue reading

Posted in devices, Security | Tagged | Leave a comment

Why ISL Online: Critical factors when choosing a remote desktop solution

[Sponsored Post]In the rapidly evolving IT world, choosing the right remote desktop software is critical for organizations that value security, ease of use and reliability. One provider of secure remote access that has been on the market since 2001 is ISL Online, which presents some considerations for choosing such software below. More ...


Microsoft Store for Business: Will be removed in May 2023

Continue reading

Posted in Windows | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Windows April 2023 Updates: Netlogon- and Kerberos protocol changes, there seems to be issues

Windows[German]Microsoft has indeed postponed its schedules for phased adjustments to the Netlogon protocol (due to CVE-2022-38023) and the Kerberos protocol from April 11, 2023 to June 13, 2023. But with the Windows update of April 11, 2023, the option to disable RPC sealing in the registry has already been removed. In the meantime, the first problems are being reported and a Microsoft employee has just asked administrators to test the systems, as I saw on Twitter.

Continue reading

Posted in General, Software | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Microsoft moves tenant security standards in Azure AD to MFA by May 8, 2023

[German]Microsoft is forcing/moving Azure AD customers to MFA authentication as a security standard within days. A German blog reader just informed me that he (as a global Azure AD admin) received a notification from Microsoft and that his organization will be migrated to this security standard on May 8, 2023.

Continue reading

Posted in General | Leave a comment

Microsoft 365 has been disrupted – apps missing sporadically (April 20, 2023)

[German]There was a disruption of Microsoft 365 services (I got first reports on April 19, 2023) during the last hours. User can't reach apps in Microsoft 365 – the page ist empty. Microsoft investigated that and has now recovered, according to tweets dated April 20, 2023. Here is a short overview, what we know so far.

Continue reading

Posted in Cloud, issue | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Windows Update Service components update KB4023057 April 2023 Refresh

Windows[German]Microsoft must have quietly released an updated version of update KB4023057 (Microsoft Update Health Tools, formerly Preparatory Update or Update for Windows Update Service Components) for machines running Windows 10/11 in April 2023. The goal is to improve the reliability of the Windows update process and to find and fix update problems on Windows 10/11 systems that prevent an upgrade.

Continue reading

Posted in Update, Windows | Tagged , , | Leave a comment